Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella serovars isolated from poultry meat in Hyderabad, Pakistan

This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella in broiler chicken meat sold in Hyderabad, Pakistan. A total of 100 samples were randomly collected from poultry meat retail markets and examined for the presence of Salmonella. The prevalence rate recorded was 38%. The most prevalent serogroups were S. enteritidis, S. typhi, S. pullorum, and S. typhimurium. All the Salmonella isolates showed resistance to ampicillin, and sensitivity to tetracycline, streptomycin, cefotaxime, ceftazidime, gentamicin, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and chloramphenicol. The findings highlighted the magnitude of Salmonella contamination in chicken meat sold in the city, and the antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolates is an indication of indiscriminate and continuous use of antibiotics in poultry feed as well as in the broiler flocks. The results showed the possible significance of chicken meat as a source of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella for human infections and suggested the need for further detailed epidemiological studies.