Abstract
The prevalence of Salmonella isolated from a poultry farm and from the poultry processing plant environment were evaluated from August 2004 to July 2005 along with microbial antibiotic resistance. In total, 3242 samples were collected from the farm and processing plant. Samples collected from the farm included hatching eggs, paper liners, litter, feed, water, drinkers, air, bird rinse, and ceca. While samples collected from the processing plant included carcass rinse and ceca. Out of 2882 samples collected from the farm, the overall percentage prevalence of Salmonella was 5.4% with prevalence rates of 10%, 1.5%, 0.7%, 0.2%, 13.5%, and 12.6% for hatching eggs, litter, feed, drinkers, bird rinse and ceca, respectively. No Salmonella were detected in any of the paper liner, water, or air samples. Out of 360 samples collected from the processing plant, the overall percentage prevalence of Salmonella was 4.7% with prevalence rates of 6.1% and 3.3% for carcass rinse and ceca samples, respectively. Salmonella Enteritidis was the most prevalent serotype. All of the isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic and 10 different resistance profiles were found among 173 isolates of Salmonella Enteritidis. Resistance to ampicillin, nalidixic acid, and tetracycline were the most common. The widespread occurrence of multiple resistant Salmonella Enteritidis is a cause for concern, and local regulatory enforcement agencies should ensure prudent use of antibiotics.
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