Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance pattern of Salmonella in animal feed produced in Namibia.

The occurrence of Salmonella is a global challenge in the public health and food production sectors. Our study investigated the prevalence, serovar and antimicrobial susceptibility of strains of Salmonella serovars isolated from animal feed (meat-and-bone and blood meal) samples from two commercial abattoirs in Namibia. A total of 650 samples (n=650) were examined for the presence of Salmonella. Results showed that 10.9% (n=71) were positive for Salmonella. Of the Salmonella serovars isolated, S. Chester was the most commonly isolated serovar (19.7%), followed by S. Schwarzengrund at 12.7%. From the Salmonella isolates, 19.7% (n=14) were resistant to one or more of the antimicrobials (nalidixic acid, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, sulfisoxazole, streptomycin and/or tetracycline), whereas 80.3% (n=57) were susceptible to all 16 antimicrobials tested. Resistance to sulfisoxazole and the trimethroprimsuflamethoxazole combination were the most common. The resistant isolates belonged to ten different Salmonella serovars. The susceptibility of most of the Salmonella isolated to the antimicrobials tested indicates that anti-microbial resistance is not as common and extensive in Namibia as has been reported in many other countries. It also appears that there is a range of antimicrobials available that are effective in managing Salmonella infections in Namibia. However, there is some evidence that resistance is developing and this will need further monitoring to ensure it does not become a problem.