Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Listeria monocytogenes poultry meat and poultry slaughterhouse environment, Yazd, Iran (1394)

Listeria monocytogenes is an important psychrotrophic foodborne pathogen that exists in poultry meat and causes listeriosis with severe clinical consequences such as meningitis, septicemia, and abortion. Therefore, contamination of food stuff implies a significant health risk for human. Data on contamination of poultry meat and poultry slaughterhouse with Listeria monocytogenes are scarce in Iran. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of antibiotic resistance and Listeria monocytogenes in poultry meat and poultry slaughterhouse environment in the city of Yazd.
To determine the presence of L.monocytogenes culture media and biochemical tests were used; then, isolates were confirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). At the end, the antibiogram test was conducted to determine antibiotic resistance.
A total of 811 samples selected from the two slaughter houses were analyzed; from which 104 samples (12.8%) were contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes. The highest amount of contamination was observed in Swap the Cold storage surfaces , while the lowest levels of contamination were related to chicken carcass before chiller. The highest amount of antibiotic resistance was for ampicillin, tetracycline, and penicillin.
The results of this study indicate contamination of chicken meat and antibiotic resistance of isolated Listeria monocytogenes. Since chicken meat is highly consumed and is transferred in raw form, also due to lack of proper control and use of antibiotics during breeding, it can lead to serious health risks in the community. Lack of knowledge about risks of listeriosis indicates the need for implementing food safety education programs. In addition, the Iranian food safety authorities should urgently set up an effective standard to screen all susceptible foods for the presence of Listeria.