ABSTRACT. Poultry products have consistently been identified as important sources of Salmonella infection in humans, because vertical transfer of infection from breeding hens to progeny is an important aspect of the epidemiology of Salmonella spp. infection within the poultry industry. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella contamination in poultry products from 15 different located geographical areas from among the 50 poultry slaughterhouses authorized to operate in Korea and to characterize all the isolates by genotyping, phage typing and antibiotic resistance pattern. Salmonella was isolated from 10 (66.7%) of the first and 5 (33.3%) of the last chilling waters and from 32 (42.7%) carcasses originating from 9 slaughterhouses. The major prevalent serotypes of Salmonella originating from 2 duck slaughterhouses and 13 chicken slaughterhouses tested were S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis, respectively. Regarding the characteristics of their antibiotic resistance, 8 of the 11 ampicillin resistant (Am R ) isolates carried bla TEM only, two carried bla TEM and bla CTX-M-14 and one carried bla CTX-M-3 and only one Am R isolate with the bla CTX-M-3 β-lactamase gene was an ESBL-producing Salmonella strain. Twenty-seven Salmonella isolates showed nalidixic acid resistance with a mutation at amino acid codon Asp87 in gyrA and no mutation in the parC gene. In all the phenotypic and genotypic properties of the 18 S. Enteritidis and 8 S. Typhimurium based on PFGE, phage types and antibiotic resistance pattern, the predominant patterns were XEI/BEI-PT32a-Na R (n=5) and XTI/BTI-RNDC-no resistant antibiotics (n=6), respectively.

Ninety-nine Escherichia coli and 33 Salmonella isolates were assessed for antimicrobial susceptibility (disc diffusion test). Sulfonamide and tetracycline resistance genes were identified through PCR, and class 1 and class 2 integrons with resistance gene cassettes were identified with PCR followed by sequencing. Salmonella (63.6%) and E. coli (85.8%) isolates were multidrug resistant (resistance to 3 or more antimicrobials), and the highest incidences of resistance were observed for tetracycline, nalidixic acid, and sulfamethoxazole. The sul1, sul2, tetA, and tetB resistance determinant genes were predominant in E. coli, whereas only sul2 and tetA were identified in Salmonella isolates. In the E. coli isolates, 54 (54.5%) class 1 integrons, 6 (6.1%) class 2 integrons, and 5 (5.1%) class 1 and class 2 integrons together were detected, whereas only 3 (9.1%) integrons were found in the Salmonella serovars. Around 87% of the integrons in E. coli harbored resistance gene cassettes conferring resistance to streptomycin/spectinomycin (aadA, aminoglycoside resistance gene), trimethoprim (dfrA, dihydrofolate reductase gene), streptothricin [sat1 and sat2 (streptothricin acetyltransferase), and estX (putative esterases)]. The most common gene cassettes were aadA1+dfrA1 and dfrA1+sat2+aadA1 in class 1 and class 2 integrons, respectively. Other cassettes including aadA5+dfrA7, dfrA12+aadA2, aadA2+aadA1+dfrA12, and aadA5+aadA2/dfrA7 were also identified. Among the Salmonella serovars, Salmonella Malmoe harbored aadA1+dfrA1 and dfrA12+sat2+aadA1 genes. The aadA1, aadA2, sat2, and dfrA1 had wide variation in similarity among themselves and from previously reported genes worldwide. The diverse gene cassettes could be responsible for the prominent resistance profiles observed and a potential source for dissemination of antimicrobial resistance determinants to other bacteria.

ABSTRACT. Canine brucellosis is a contagious disease with venereal and oral modes of transmission that produces late abortion in females, epididymides and prostates in males. Diagnosis is difficult because of unstable serum antibody titers that vary from individual to individual as well as between different methods used for their detection. The objective of this work was to evaluate the clinical utility of the immunochromatographic assay (ICA) for serodiagnosis of dogs suspected of having brucellosis, and results were compared with those obtained for hemoculture (HC) and the rapid screening agglutination with 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME RSAT). The all experimentally infected dogs were positive in ICA, HC and 2-ME RSAT from 5 weeks, 7 weeks, and 3 weeks after infection, respectively. Also, among dogs selected from 10 different breed kennels occurred brucellosis, 24.8%, 39.5% and 39.1% of dogs tested were detected as positive with HC, 2-ME RSAT and ICA, respectively. The kappa value between 2-ME RSAT and ICA was 0.89. The results of this study showed that sensitivity and specificity of the ICA are comparable with those obtained using conventional serological and bacteriological test for brucellosis. In conclusion, the ICA kit provides a handy and accurate tool for the rapid serodiagnosis of canine brucellosis. KEY WORDS: Brucella canis, diagnosis, immunochromatographic assay.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological and genetic characterization of persistent Salmonella isolates in an integrated broiler chicken operation, in an attempt to elucidate the source of contamination. From the breeder farm, the hatchery, the broiler farm and the chicken slaughter house of an integrated broiler chicken operation, a total of 6 serotypes were observed. Although S. Heidelberg was not detected in the broiler farm, it was consistently found in the breeder farm, the hatchery and the chicken slaughter house. Also, S. Enteritidis and S. Senftenberg were found in the hatchery and the chicken slaughter house, and the hatchery and the broiler farm, respectively. S. Gallinarum and S. Blockley were found only in the broiler farm, and S. Virchow was only recovered in the chicken slaughter house. Isolated S. Heidelberg, S. Enteritidis and S. Senftenberg strains were divided into 3, 5 and 7 types, respectively, on the basis of all properties. Especially, S. Senftenberg isolates, divided into four types by their antimicrobial resistance patterns, were all obviously the XbaI PFGE pattern. Also, four S. Enteritidis isolates resistant to nalidixic acid showed a difference in phage type and PFGE pattern. Such a different pattern was shown despite Salmonella isolates originating from an integrated broiler operation, suggesting that further epidemiological studies on many integrated chicken companies in Korea are needed. KEY WORDS: integrated broiler chicken operation, Salmonella.

Edible offal meats have recently received significant attention worldwide. However, studies evaluating the microbial quality of diverse edible offal and specifically investigating contamination by pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses are rare. Our study was conducted to investigate the microbiological quality of six kinds of edible offal produced from 11 pigs and 8 cattle slaughterhouses in the Republic of Korea and the prevalence of pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, Staphylococcus aureus, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 in these products. The values for aerobic plate counts, coliform counts, and E. coli counts in red offal were 1.00 to 6.70, 0 (below 10 CFU) to 4.78, and 0 to 4.00 log CFU/g, respectively. For green offal, the values were 3.00 to 7.00, 1.48 to 6.30, and 0 to 6.00 log CFU/g, respectively. The most frequently detected foodborne pathogen was Salmonella (23.8% prevalence in pig offal and 7.1% prevalence in cattle offal), followed by C. perfringens (11.1 and 7.1%, respectively) and S. aureus (12.7 and 2.4%, respectively). None of the offal samples tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. Considering the microbial quality of offal from Korean slaughterhouses and the prevalence of foodborne pathogens in this material, more refined hygienic standards such as a hazard analysis critical control point system for processing, packing, and transporting edible offal are necessary for preventing further contamination.