title: Evaluation of drug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in retail poultry and beef.
abstract: There has been increasing concern on the emergence of multidrug-resistant foodborne pathogens from foods of animal origin, including poultry. The current study aimed to evaluate antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae from raw retail chicken/turkey parts (thigh, wings, breast, and ground) and beef meat (ground and chunks) in Middle Tennessee. Resistance of the collected Enterobacteriaceae to a panel of antibiotics was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test. Retail meats were also assayed for the presence of Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Two hundred thirty-seven samples representing 95.2% of the total of 249 samples tested were positive for Enterobacteriaceae. The level of contamination with Enterobacteriaceae in raw meats ranged from 3.26 log10 cfu/g to 4.94 log10 cfu/g with significant differences in counts among meat types (P < 0.05). Contamination was significantly greater (P < 0.05) in ground beef, beef chucks, ground chicken, chicken breast, and turkey wings (4.92, 4.58, 4.94, 4.75, 4.13 log10 cfu/g, respectively) than ground turkey and chicken wings (3.26 and 3.26 log10 cfu/g, respectively). Klebsiella oxytoca, Serratia spp., E. coli, and Haffnia alvei were most prevalent contaminants at 27.4, 14.3, 12.1, and 11.4%, respectively. Resistance of the Enterobacteriaceae to antimicrobials was most frequent with erythromycin, penicillin, and ampicillin at 100, 89, and 65.8%, respectively. Few (2.7%) of the Enterobacteriaceae were resistant to chloramphenicol. Salmonella spp., E. coli O157:H7, Morganella morganii, Yersinia enterocolitica, and Vibrio parahemolyticus exhibited multiple drug resistance. This investigation demonstrates that raw poultry and beef are potential reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant Enterobacteriaceae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family and Consumer Science, Tennessee State University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kilonzo-Nthenge
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rotich
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Nahashon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects*; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012475:Salmonella / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013714:Tennessee; D014422:Turkeys / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents