Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistance in Salmonella Serotypes Isolated from Environment, Humans, Animals, and Animal Products in Morocco: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Several studies have been carried out in Morocco on Salmonella contamination in humans, domestic and wild animals, food products, and the environment. This bacterial genus is responsible for several infections and foodborne illnesses worldwide. The epidemiological situation of contamination by Salmonella is worsened by the development of antibiotic resistance to the main antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. The purpose of this study was to review the leading research carried out in this field, emphasizing the antibiotic resistance of this bacterium to antibiotics in humans and animals. Although some studies could not demonstrate the presence of Salmonella in the environments studied, the prevalence of contamination remained relatively high in humans, animals, food products, and the environment. The most critical contaminations were observed in poultry farms and poultry meat. Salmonella causes 42.8% of food poisoning cases in Morocco. It is the second most common cause of poisoning after pesticide poisoning. Morocco ranks first in the Middle East and North Africa for human salmonellosis, with a prevalence of 17.9% (1997-2012). Its prevalence in food products, especially those of animal origin, is very high and could reach 52.9% in turkey meat. Food products have been studied more for their contamination by Salmonella species. Meat products accounted for 17.35% of food poisoning cases. This study revealed that the isolation rate of Salmonella from food products of animal origin was dominated by isolations from meat products, with prevalence rates of 41.76 % from red meat and meat products and 25.88% from poultry meat, followed by prevalence rates of 12.44 % from fish products and 11.80 % from eggs. On the coast of Agadir, the incidence rates of Salmonella were 6.8% and 4.1% in sediment and seawater, respectively. This occurrence was 2.38% in the surface waters of Oued Khoumane. The development of resistance, particularly multi-resistance to antibiotics of therapeutic interest in both humans and animals, is alarming, especially with the ease of transmission of the bacterium to humans and facilitates its dissemination. Research findings indicated that 93.02% of isolates of Salmonella from humans, 79.37% of the strains isolated from poultry, and 46.27% of isolates from food products were resistant to at least one antibiotic.