Abstract

Salmonella is one of the most common foodborne pathogens associated with diarrheal disease in humans. Food animals, especially poultry, are important direct and indirect sources of human salmonellosis, and antimicrobial resistance is an emerging problem of public health concern. The use of antimicrobials benefits producers but contributes to the emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. As a step toward implementing the Colombian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance, this study was conducted to establish the prevalence, distribution of serovars, antimicrobial resistance profiles, and risk factors for Salmonella on poultry farms in the two largest states of poultry production in Colombia. Salmonella was isolated from 41% of farms and 65% of the 315 chicken houses sampled. Salmonella Paratyphi B variant Java was the most prevalent serovar (76%), followed by Salmonella Heidelberg (23%). All Salmonella isolates were resistant to 2 to 15 of the antimicrobial drugs tested in this study. For Salmonella Paratyphi B variant Java, 34 drug resistance patterns were present. The predominant resistance pattern was ciprofloxacin, nitrofurantoin, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, ceftiofur, streptomycin, enrofloxacin, and nalidixic acid; this pattern was detected in 15% of isolates. The resistance pattern of tetracycline, ceftiofur, and nalidixic acid was found in over 40% of the isolates of Salmonella Heidelberg. Of the biosecurity practices considered, two factors were significantly associated with reduction in Salmonella: cleaning of fixed equipment and composting of dead birds on the farm. Findings from the present study provide scientific evidence to inform implementation of official policies that support new biosecurity legislation in an effort to decrease the prevalence of Salmonella on Colombian poultry farms.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Donado-Godoy P, Gardner I, Byrne BA, Leon M, Perez-Gutierrez E, Ovalle MV, Tafur MA, Miller W

Institution

Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, Centro de Biotecnología y Bioindustria, Via Mosquera, Cundinamarca, Colombia. pidonado@corpoica.org.co

Source

Journal of food protection 75:5 2012 May pg 874-83

MeSH

Animal Husbandry
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Chickens
Colombia
Colony Count, Microbial
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
Food Contamination
Humans
Hygiene
Microbial Sensitivity Tests
Prevalence
Risk Factors
Salmonella

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22564936