Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in meat and meat products in Latvia

Introduction and objective. Salmonella is a foodborne pathogen which causes gastrointestinal illness in consumers, and exhibits resistance to antimicrobials of veterinary and clinical significance. The aim of this study is to detect the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolates from meat in Latvia. Materials and method. A total of 3,152 samples of raw and ready-to-eat (RTE) meats were collected during the official control and in-house control procedures in 2015. Samples were tested in accordance with ISO 6579:2002. All S. Typhimurium, S. Enteritidis and other isolates recovered from the official control samples (S. Derby, S. Give) were tested for antimicrobial resistance. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were investigated in line with the requirements of the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Results. The prevalence of Salmonella was 0.8% (25/3152). The highest prevalence (1.5%) of Salmonella was found in minced meat and meat preparations (7/481), while the lowest (0%) in frozen meat and meat preparations (0/349) and RTE meats (0/364). The most common serovars were S. Typhimurium (36%, 9/25) and S. Derby (32%, 8/25). In total, 62% (13/21) of Salmonella isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent. Altogether, 40% (8/20) of isolates were resistant to sulfamethoxazole, 25% (5/20) to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, ampicillin and 20% (4/20) to tetracycline. All isolates were susceptible to ceftazidime, cefotaxime, meropenem, azithromycin and tigecycline. S. Typhimurium exhibited antimicrobial resistance more often (87.5%) than other serovars. Conclusion. The study shows that the presence of Salmonella in meat, together with the high prevalence of resistant strains, is a significant public health related issue in Latvia.