IDENTIFICATION OF Salmonella sps. FROM CONTAMINATED MEAT SAMPLES BY MULTIPLEX PCR-BASED ASSAY

Poultry and cattle are the principal hosts of pathogenic bacterium Salmonella species. Therefore, development and use of a precise and sensitive method for identifying this pathogen is one of the main concerns for researchers. In this study, total 1100 cattle and poultry meat samples were evaluated to examine the presence of Salmonella by using three methods viz pre-enrichment culture, medium culture and polymerase chain reaction. Among the collected 850 cattle and 250 poultry samples 4.35% and 5.6% of the cattle and poultry samples were contaminated by Salmonella respectively. Further, among the 51 Salmonella contaminated samples of cattle and poultry, 25% were infected by S. enteritidis, 35% by S. typhimurium and 17% by S. infantis. Among the various tested methods, combination of a conventional PCR technology and standard culture medium could be effective in providing a more and accurate profile of the prevalence of this pathogen in poultry and cattle meat.