Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Salmonella spp. in South Punjab-Pakistan

Present study aimed at investigating the magnitude of the prevalence and antibiotic resistance among four Salmonella spp. i.e. S. typhi, S. paratyphi A, S. paratyphi B and S. typhimurium, present in raw milk and environment samples from five districts of southern part of the Province of Punjab in Pakistan i.e. Multan, Bahawalpur, Lodhran, Dera Ghazi Khan and Muzaffargarh. A total of 3000 raw milk and environment samples were collected from these sites and analyzed for detection and confirmation of Salmonella spp. Extent of antibiotic resistance was also determined and classified as resistant, intermediate and susceptible. S. typhimurium was found to be more prevalent in Multan region as compared to other districts. Increased emergence of antibacterial resistance among Salmonella spp. from raw milk samples was noted. Amongst 13 tested antibiotics, chloramphenicol and ofloxacin were found to be the most susceptible against Salmonella spp. Present study suggested serious interventions by relevant government agencies to ensure best practices in animal husbandry at farm level and sagacious use of antibiotics for the containment of antimicrobial resistance in Salmonella spp.


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Please Insert Table-1 Here 146 Amidst five experimental sites in district Bahawalpur, Ahmad Pur East was shown to elicit the 147 highest prevalence (%) for all four Salmonella spp. with S. typhi being more visible (Table 2). S. 148 typhi also turned up as the most prevalent Salmonella spp. i.e. 11.8% (n=89) in Bahawalpur district 149 as a whole, followed by S. typhimurium i.e. 10.0 % (n=75). Notwithstanding, prevalence (%) of 150 S. paratyphi A&B marked a non-significant difference (P>0.05) and they appeared to be the 151 least prevalent Salmonella spp. i.e. 3.2 % (n=24) and 2.8% (n=21) respectively in the region.

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When it came to the town level prevalence rate, Hasil Pur seemed to have been microbiologically 153 the least tainted site in district Bahawalpur. A total of 209 samples (27.87%) were found positive 154 for four strains of Salmonella isolated from raw milk and environment (Table 2.) 155 Please Insert Table-2 Here 156 Lodhran is relatively a smaller district of South Punjab and is located on northern side of the Salmonella spp. were non-significant (P>0.05) with regard to prevalence in towns of D.G. Khan 171 region as shown in Table 4.

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Please Insert Table-4 Here   173   174 Muzaffargarh is one the known districts in Dera Ghazi Khan division of Punjab in Pakistan.

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Muzaffargarh city is located on the banks of the Chenab River. Out of 600 samples screened for 176 Salmonella, 31.33% (n=188) samples were found positive with the most prevalent Salmonella spp.

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The results of present study are in agreement with the finding of Pangloli et al.  (Table 5). Prevalence rate of Salmonella however 222 might not be attributed to any specific determinant and no relationship with respect to prevalence Our results indicated that S. paratyphi A had not yet acquired multidrug resistance against these 263 antibiotics, therefore these drugs could be equally applied as treatment options against illness 264 caused by this microorganism. S paratyphi B has almost manifested similar patterns for antibiotic 265 resistance against the tested antibiotics as that of S paratyphi A however, the microbe depicted 266 increased sensitivity against GEN (94.21%) and CZA (87.60%) over S paratyphi A (Table 6). Our 267 results further demonstrated that S paratyphi B was shown to make a rapid transition from its 268 extant sensitivity to developing resistances against MOX (33.88 %) and TMP (25.62%).