Prevalence and Antibiotic Resistance of Salmonella in Broiler Meat from Rupandehi, Nepal

Salmonella is recognized as a significant foodborne pathogen responsible for causing severe infection. It is one of the main causes of huge economic losses due to mortality and decreased production in poultry sector throughout world. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antibiogram of Salmonella isolated from retail broiler meat. A cross-sectional study was done from August to September 2023 with a total of 152 samples (106 muscle and 46 liver) from different retail meat shops of Siddharthanagar municipality, Rupandehi and transported to Veterinary Medicine Lab, Paklihawa Campus for further analysis according to standard culture-based methods. Antibiogram of isolated Salmonella was evaluated against five different groups of antibiotics by disc diffusion method following CLSI guidelines. Data was analysed in SPSS using Chi-Square test at confidence level of 95%. The overall prevalence of Salmonella was recorded to be 18.42% whereby prevalence from liver sample was 19.57% and muscle sample was 17.92%. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in prevalence among the sample types. The antibiogram study revealed that none of the antibiotics showed 100% effectiveness. The most resistance was seen with Ciprofloxacin (89.28%) followed by Ceftriaxone (85.71%), Tetracycline (82.14%), Chloramphenicol (57.14%), and Amikacin (53.57%). 26 out of 28 isolates (92.86%) were found to be multidrug-resistant (≥3 antibiotic groups). The study revealed a higher prevalence of Salmonella in the retail market, highlighting it as a potential public health threat due to the risk of infection from poultry meat consumption. Regular surveillance on antibiotic resistance and justifiable use of antibiotics in the commercial poultry industry is highly recommended.