Antimicrobial Resistance Evaluation of Pathogen Salmonella Strains Isolated in Pork and Poultry Meat

Abstract

Salmonella spp. are among the most frequent causes of human gastroenteritis and meat is the major vector of transmission. The most severe cases of human infections are caused by drug-resistant Salmonella spp., which so far has been reported with a high incidence in Europe. Unfortunately, accurate data regarding the prevalence of these resistant Salmonella strains in Romania have not yet been published. This research was conducted on a number of 120 Salmonella spp. isolates  from poultry (n=98) and pork meat (n=22). These bacteria were isolated from a number of 150 meat samples examined during the years 2011 and 2012 in a regional food control laboratory. The drug-susceptibility was tested through classical methods and the pathogen strains of Salmonella were confirmed through PCR. The results revealed a higher prevalence for S. enteritidis and S. typhymurium in the isolates obtained from poultry meat (67%). The pathogen Salmonella isolates were most frequently resistant to tetracycline (60.53%), streptomycin (51.21%), sulfamethoxazole (37.25%), nalidixic acid (25.10%) and ciprofloxacin (12.65%). Additionally, in pork meat Salmonella isolates there was a markedly lower resistance rate observed. There is a high prevalence of Salmonella spp. pathogen strains in poultry meat and a relatively high resistance rate to multiple drugs. Our findings indicate that poultry and pork meat products could represent a serious source of human exposure to multidrug resistant Salmonella in the regional market studied. We further recommend a more strict surveillance of these bacteria and of this resistance phenomenon that threatens the life of the consumer.