A Prospective Study on Antibiogram Pattern for Salmonella Isolated from Poultry Origin and Milk Samples of Local Chicken Retailers and Local Vendors in Tirupathi, India

Salmonellosis is the one of the most common food borne bacterial zoonotic disease in the world. The emergence of antibiotic resistance among the Salmonella spp. at present, globally poses a great public health hazard. This present study was conducted to evaluate the hygienic condition of live poultry birds, raw chicken meat and raw bovine milk with special reference to isolation of Salmonella spp. by conventional culture method and to study antibiogram pattern of Salmonella against commonly used antibiotics. A total of 138 samples comprising of 40 chicken cloacal samples, 60 chicken meat and 38 milk samples collected from various parts of Tirupathi region, South India were processed for the isolation of Salmonella spp. in Hektoen Enteric (HE) agar, Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate (XLD) and MacConkey agar by standard protocol. Salmonella typical colonies in HE agar, XLD and MacConkey agar were further confirmed by triple sugar iron agar, IMViC test, urease test, and mannitol motility test. Positive samples were processed to study the antibiogram pattern by Kirby-Bauer method. Out of 138 samples, 35% (14/40) cloacal swabs, 26.67% (16/60) chicken meat and 5.26% (2/38) milk samples were positive for Salmonella based on colony characters and biochemical reactions. The isolated Salmonella spp. were resistant to at least two or more antibiotics. Among tested drugs Erythromycin (100%) was highly resistant followed by tetracycline (81.25%), cephalothin (65.62%), ampicillin (68.7 5 % ), cefoxitin (46.87%) and co-trimoxazole (31.25%). However, positive Salmonella isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin (84.37%) and Gentamicin (75%). From the results of the present study it is concluded that Salmonella isolates were seen in poultry origin and milk samples indicates this could be a one of the potential vehicle for antibiotic resistant Salmonella food borne infection to humans. Hence there is a need to create the awareness among the public, poultry and dairy farmers and local food vendors of Tirupathi region regarding hygienic practices adaptation and also implementation of preventive measures.