Prevalence, Antimicrobial Resistance and Risk Factors of Zoonotic Foodborne Pathogens Isolated from Camel Meat

Abstract

Approximately 75% of newly emerging infectious human illnesses are zoonotic(originating mainly from animals). All camel-raising countries, where camel meat is ofpopular consumption, are susceptible to camel zoonotic illnesses. The goal of the currentstudy was to evaluate the microbiological safety and the associated risk factors ofincreasing microbial prevalence with the antibiogram status of the examined camel meat atthe Elbasatien abattoir, which is the oldest and biggest abattoir in Cairo governorate ofEgypt. Three zoonotic foodborne pathogens, including Salmonella spp., Staphylococcusaureus, and Escherichia coli, were successfully isolated with prevalence rates of 8%(8/100), 24% (24/100), and 14% (14/100) in the camel meat samples under examination.The prevalence of the isolated foodborne pathogens in camel meat was found to be higheramong the age group of ˃5 years, among females, among samples collected during warmconditions, and ultimately among camels reared with other animal species in the herd,based on an analysis of the demographic data of the examined slaughtered camels aspotential risk factors of acquiring pathogens. Additionally, using antimicrobialsusceptibility testing on the three foodborne pathogens isolated revealed that, although theobtained positive S. aureus showed resistance against Amoxicillin-clavulanic, Ampicillin,and Ceptaxime, all isolated positive Salmonella and E. coli were resistant against all tenantibiotic discs used in the study.The discovered antibiogram data shed insight on the riskof foodborne pathogen transmission to humans and the subsequent spread of antibioticresistance amongst consumers of camel meat.