Antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella isolates from chicken meat samples in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The objective of this study was to isolate and verify the sensitivity to antimicrobial agents of strains of Salmonella spp. isolated from chicken meat samples in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A total number of 60 fresh chicken meat samples mainly chicken breast, chicken wing and chicken thigh were randomly collected from various supermarkets and butcheries in Dubai. The methods for Salmonella isolation and characterisation along with the susceptibility of these isolates to antibiotics were assessed. In total 66 pure isolates of Salmonella were obtained. The genus level identification of these isolates was carried out by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridisation (FISH) using the VIT-Salmonella kit (Vermicon Identification Technology, Vermicon, Munich, Germany). All the isolates tested positive for Salmonella genus specific oligonucleotide probe. These isolates were then subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing to 10 commonly used antibiotics. All the isolates (100%) showed resistance to Cephalexin and Rifampicin. A high degree of resistance was also observed for Ampicillin and Tetracycline while 87.88% of these isolates were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin and Amikacin. The prevalence of Salmonella strains resistant to more than one antibiotics may be due to the comprehensive use of antibiotics included in feeds as growth promoters and due to the widespread use of antibiotics in poultry industries. In conclusion, a high degree of multiple drug resistance was observed in Salmonella isolates from chicken meat samples that indicate that drug resistance of Salmonella is becoming a crucial health problem in this part of the world.