Serotyping and Antibiotic Resistance Profiles of Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes Strains Isolated from Pet Food and Feed Samples: A One Health Perspective

Foodborne pathogenic bacteria, like <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>Listeria monocytogenes</i>, can be detected in the primary food production environment. On the other hand, and in the current context of One Health, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is gaining increased attention worldwide, as it poses significant threat to public health. The purpose of this study was to confirm the presence of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>L. monocytogenes</i> in pet food and feed samples, by means of biochemical and/or serological testing of the microbial isolates, and then to screen for AMR against a panel of selected antibiotics. Serotyping of the isolates with multiplex polymerase chain reaction revealed the presence of three of the most common clinical <i>Salmonella</i> serovars (<i>S.</i> Enteritidis, <i>S.</i> Typhimurium, <i>S.</i> Thompson) and the major epidemiologically important <i>L. monocytogenes</i> serotypes (1/2a, 1/2b, 1/2c, 4b) in 15 and 9 confirmed isolates of the pathogens, respectively. Strains of <i>Salmonella</i> spp. showed resistance to tetracycline (<i>n</i> = 3) and combined AMR to tetracycline with either ampicillin (<i>n</i> = 2) or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (<i>n</i> = 3), without any multidrug resistance (MDR) being recorded whatsoever. AMR in <i>L. monocytogenes</i> was documented in 55.5% of the bacterial strains (<i>n</i> = 5) tested against ciprofloxacin, meropenem, penicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and tetracycline. Alarmingly, one strain of <i>L. monocytogenes</i> was MDR to the latter five antibiotics and deemed resistant in three antibiotic groups (carbapenems, penicillins, tetracyclines), after exhibiting minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) to meropenem (MIC = 4 μg/mL), penicillin (MIC = 4 μg/mL), and tetracycline (MIC = 48 μg/mL). To the best of our knowledge, finding an MDR <i>L. monocytogenes</i> in pet food is something reported for the first time herein. The results presented in this study highlight the presence of important foodborne bacterial pathogens, such as <i>Salmonella</i> spp. and <i>L. monocytogenes</i>, with increased AMR to antibiotics and possible MDR at the primary production and at the farm level, due to the misuse of pharmacological substances used to treat zoonotic diseases, probably resulting in detection of resistant strains of these pathogenic bacteria in animal-originated food products (e.g., meat, milk, eggs).