title: Prevalence, risk factors, and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Salmonella from commercial broiler farms in two important poultry-producing regions of Colombia.
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.
authors.affiliation: Corporación Colombiana de Investigación Agropecuaria, Centro de Biotecnología y Bioindustria, Via Mosquera, Cundinamarca, Colombia. pidonado@corpoica.org.co
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donado-Godoy
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Perez-Gutierrez
authors.forename: M V
authors.initials: MV
authors.lastname: Ovalle
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tafur
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Miller
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents