Ten-year comparison of the efficiency of legal regulations of foodborne pathogens in broilers in Türkiye

Abstract

Broiler meat are the primary source of foodborne pathogens, such as Campylobacter jejuni and Salmonella spp., and E. coli O157.The illegal use of antibiotics for preventive purposes or the habit of using broad-spectrum antibiotics in farms causes antibiotic resistance in these pathogens. This study compared C. jejuni, , Salmonella spp. and E. coli O157 and their antibiotic resistance patterns in broiler meats in 2011-2012 and 2021-2022. The research we carried out in 2011-2012 to determine the risks posed by illegal and uncontrolled use of antibiotics was repeated with a similar sample set in 2021-2022 in order to observe the effectiveness of the legal regulations for the control of pathogens and monitoring of antibiotic use, which came into force in Turkey in 2014 and 2018. The results showed that the prevalence of C. jejuni, , Salmonella spp., and E. coli O157 in 2011-2012 and 2021-2022 was 68.0%, 30.4%, 0.8% and 10.08%, 7.77%, 0.21%, respectively. The antimicrobial susceptibility tests against gentamicin, streptomycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, ampicillin and piperacillin were performed by agar disk diffusion method. According to results in 2011-2012, all C. jejuni and Salmonella spp. were resistant to at least one tested antibiotic, with 31.57% of Salmonella spp. and 16.47% of C. jejuni being multidrug-resistant. In addition, one of the E. coli O157 strains was resistant to one antibiotic, and the other was resistant to two antibiotics. In 2021-2022, 81.3% of C. jejuni, , 46% of Salmonella spp. and only one E. coli O157 were found resistant to at least one antibiotic tested,8.33% of C. jejuni and 21.62% of Salmonella species were detected in multi-drug resistance. In the past, antibiotics were used for preventative purposes, as indicated by the survey results. Today, it is evident that these rates have decreased to low levels as a result of legal regulations and monitoring.