Abstract

A study was made of Salmonella contamination in chicken carcasses and giblets sampled from retail outlets in Meknès, Morocco. The serotypes as well as antibiotic-resistance patterns of the Salmonella isolates were determined. A total of 576 samples (144 from popular market, 144 from artisanal slaughterhouses, 144 from poulterers’ shops and 144 from a supermarket) were tested. Among them, 57 (9.90%) were positive for Salmonella, 20.83% (30/57) from popular market, 16.66% (24/57) from artisanal slaughterhouses and 2.08% (3/57) from poulterers’ shops. The 57 Salmonella isolates were divided into 4 serotypes. The most prevalent serotypes were Salmonella typhimurium (40.35%) and S. newport(26.31%). All Salmonella isolates were tested for their susceptibility to 12 selected antimicrobial agents by the agar diffusion method. 43 (75.43%) isolates were resistant to one or more antimicrobials. Out of 43 resistant Salmonella isolates, 17 (39.5%) showed multiple resistance to tow or more different antimicrobials. Resistance to tetracycline, sulfamides, trimethoprim and streptomycin was the most frequent. We found 17 different patterns of multiresistant strains. The high level of antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolates in the present study showed the possible significance of chicken meat as a source of multiple antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella for human infections and suggest more restrictions on the irrational use of antibiotics. 

Key words: Salmonella, antibiotic-resistance, chicken, retail outlets, Mèknès, Morocco.