Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Salmonella Species Recovered from Livestock and Poultry

Abstract

Background: Non-typhoidal Salmonellae (NTS) are the predominant source of foodborne Salmonellosis in humans. Livestock and poultry are important reservoirs of NTS. In the context of food safety, this study was undertaken to characterize Salmonella species isolated from livestock, poultry and fish for antimicrobial resistance. Methods: A total of 620 fecal and food samples were randomly collected from different places. Isolation and identification of Salmonella species were done employing microbial and molecular tests. Phenotypic AMR pattern was studied as per the CLSI guidelines and AMR genes were detected by PCR. Result: Salmonella spp. were detected in 39(6.29%) out of 620 samples. Salmonella isolates were 100% sensitive to aztreonam, cefepime, cefpodoxime, followed by cefoxitin (97.43%), ceftazidime (94.43%), piperacillin/tazobactam (94.87%) and ciprofloxacin (71.79%). However, resistance to ampicillin (53.84%), colistin (66.66%), tetracycline (58.57%), amoxyclav (33.33%) and sulfafurazole (23.07%) was observed. Out of 39 isolates, 7(17.94%) were ESBL positive strains and blaTEM was detected in the two ESBL positive isolates. Quinolone- resistant QnrS gene was present in 3(7.69%) isolates. KPC, AmpC and MBL positivity and genes encoding mobile colistin resistance (mcr) were not detected. The presence of virulent and drug-resistant strains of Salmonella in livestock and poultry may poses environmental, food safety and public health risks.