Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria from Raw Chevon and Mutton Meat

Antimicrobial resistance is a major global issue for human and animals. Increased use of antimicrobials in livestock has become one of the causes of antimicrobial resistance development in foodborne bacteria. The aim of the present study was to characterize antimicrobial resistant bacteria, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, from one-hundred raw chevon and mutton meats (50 of each) collected from random slaughterhouses in Qalubiya governorate by standard in vitro techniques according to Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. Out of 100 samples, E. coli was detected in 36% and 50%, while S. aureus was detected in 44% and 52% of the examined chevon and mutton meats, respectively revealing mutton to be more subjected to bacterial contamination than chevon. Results of different antibiotic challenging against the detected isolates, most of them showed high levels of resistance against different used antibiotics; where mutton’s isolates showed higher resistance levels than chevon’s isolates. The highest resistance ratios were reported against tetracycline, cefaclor and amoxicillin. While, they were almost sensitive to azithromycin, ceftriaxone and norfloxacin. Referring to the molecular identification of drug resistance genes, tetA and blaTEM were detected in all of the examined E. coli isolates; whereas, aada1 gene were detected in 80% of the examined isolates. On the other hand, mecA and tetk were detected in 80% of the examined S. aureus isolates, while vanA gene was detected in only 40% of the examined samples. Therefore, strict hygienic conditions and wise usage of antibiotics in live stocks are strongly recommended.