Salmonellosis is a significant public health concern and a major cause of bacterial foodborne poisoning in Korea. Approximately 95% of salmonellosis cases in humans are related to the intake of contaminated food products, which mostly originate from livestock such as poultry, pigs, and cattle. To successfully develop strategies to reduce the spread of Salmonella, it is important to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella spp. isolated from food animals and meat. In Korea, the prevalence of Salmonella spp. in cattle was 1.2 2.0%, whereas in pigs it was 1.5 21%. Of all livestock and meat products analyzed, the Salmonella isolation rate was the highest in chickens (18.8 30.3%) and their meat. Antibiotic resistance is an important social issue. The frequent use of antibiotics in the livestock industry has led to increased antibiotic resistance in Salmonella isolates that are extracted from livestock, which raises serious public health concerns. To prevent the spread of antibiotic resistance, it is essential to collect data related to antibiotic-resistant Salmonella strains isolated from food animals and meat. Antibiotic resistance tests revealed that Salmonella isolated from cattle, pigs, and poultry were highly resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin. Recent studies show that the overuse of antibiotics in food animals can also affect antibiotic resistance in humans. Therefore, it is important to establish an appropriate management strategy to successfully prevent misuse of antibiotics within the Korean livestock industry.

Salmonellosis constitutes an important public health problem in both developing and developed countries, including Korea. The aims of present study were to investigate the serovar and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella isolated from food animals and animal products in slaughterhouses and farms. A total of 323 Salmonella were isolated from food animals (n=277) and meats (n=46) during 2010. Of the isolates, 21 different serovars were identified. The predominant serovars were S. Rissen (35%) and S. Montevideo (24.3) in healthy pigs, while S. Enteritidis (25.5%) in healthy chicken. S. Typhimurium (88.8%) was predominant in disease pigs, while S. Gallinarum (29.2%) and S. Montevideo (26.9%) were in diseased chickens. Among meat samples, S. Typhimurium (57.1%) was the most common serovar in pork but S. Enteritidis (38.7%) and S. Montevideo(32.3%) were in chikcen meats. Analysis of antimicrobial resistance patterns revealed that 20.7% of the isolates were sensitive to all the 15 drugs tested. The isolates were frequently resistant to nalidixic acid (47.7%), tetracycline (38.4%), streptomycin (33.7%), and ampicillin (32.8%). The resistance to quinolone and 3rd generation cephalosporins was higher in chicken and chicken meat isolates. Of the 323 isolates, 174 (53.9%) were resistant to one or more CLSI subclass, and 117 (36.2%) showed multiple-resistance. Our findings showed that multiple resistant Salmonella organism are widespread in animals and animal products in Korea. To prevent the transmission or exposure for consumers of antimicrobial resistant Salmonella, policies and guidelines aiming at prudential use of critical antimicrobials for humans are needed.

Campylobacterosis is the most common food borne bacterial disease in many countries. Food animals and animal products are considered to be the reservoir of the Campylobacter species. The aim of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. from food animals and raw meats in slaughterhouses. A total of 90 Campylobacter jejuni (C. jejuni) and 127 Campylobacter coli (C. coli) were isolated, for which antimicrobial susceptibility was examined using broth dilution method. Resistance to macrolide antimicrobials was higher among C. coli isolates than among C. jejuni. Among both C. jejuni and C. coli isolates, the most frequently observed resistance was to nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin, and tetracycline. No erythromycin resistance was observed among C. jejuni isolates from cattle, pig and beef. However, 28.3% (n=13) and 25% (n=3) of C. coli isolates from pigs and pork showed resistance to erythromycin, respectively. The predominant profile of multiple resistance among C. jejuni and C. coli isolates was ciprofloxacin/tetracycline/nalidixic acid resistance (46.7%) and ciprofloxacin/nalidixic acid resistance (31.5%), respectively. This finding has important implication for food safety and public health.