Avian cellulitis is an inflammatory process in the subcutaneous tissue, mainly located in the abdomen and thighs. This problem is commonly observed in poultry at slaughter and it is considered one of the major causes of condemnation of carcasses in Brazil. The aim of this study was to perform the microbial isolation of lesions of avian cellulitis from a processing plant located in the State of Goiás in order to analyze antimicrobial resistance by antibiogram test and to detect resistance genes by polymerase chain reaction. A total of 25 samples of avian cellulitis lesions were analyzed, from which 30 bacterial strains were isolated. There were eleven (44%) strains of Escherichia coli, nine (36%) strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis, seven (28%) strains of Proteus mirabilis and three (12%) strains of Manheimiahaemolytica. The antibiogram test showed that all strains were resistant to at least one antimicrobial. The gene of antimicrobial resistance tetB was detected in E. coli, S. epidermidis and P. mirabilis strains, and was the most frequently observed gene. The gene of antimicrobial resistance Sul1 was detected in all bacterial species, while tetA was found in E. coli and S. epidermidis strains, SHV in E. coli strains, S. epidermidis and P. mirabilis,and cat1 in one P. mirabilis strain. The results suggest a potential public health hazard due to the ability of these microorganisms to transmit antimicrobial resistancegenes to other microorganisms present in the intestinal tract of humans and animals, which may affect clinical-medical usage of these drugs.
INTRODUCTIONAvian cellulitis was first described in Britain by Randall et al. (1984). Characterized as an acute purulent inflammation of the subcutaneous tissue, it is routinely encountered in the abdominal region and the legs of poultry (Messier et al. 1993, Gross 1994. Carcasses presenting cellulitis should be partially or totally condemned, as determined by Ordinance No.210 of 10/11/1998 of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture (Brazil, 1998), which establishes the Technical Regulations of Technological and Sanitary-Hygienic Inspection of Poultry Meat. Some authors mention that condition as one of the main causes of carcass condemnation in broiler processing plants (Brito et al., 2002;Armendaris, 2006;Santana et al., 2008). Considering the importance of this pathology in the context of poultry meat production, this study aimed at performing microbiological isolation, testing antimicrobial resistance, and detecting antimicrobial resistance genes in microorganisms isolated from avian cellulitis lesions obtained from chicken carcasses stored in the refrigerator of a processing plant located in the state of Goiás, Brazil.14 Santos MM, Alcântara ACM, Perecmanis S, Campos A, Santana AP