Detection of antimicrobial drug resistance in Listeria monocytogenes of cattle origin

Abstract

The objective of this work was to investigate the antimicrobial drug susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes strains detected from 200 samples of cattle origin by conventional bacteriology and species specific PCR. A total of 13 (6.50%) L. monocytogenes strains were detected from faeces (2.00%), offals/ internal organs (6.00%), raw meat (4.00%) and farm water (14.00%). The L. monocytogenes strains were found to be susceptible to to most of the antimicrobial drugs tested. Highest resistance to Penicillin (23.08%) followed by Ciprofloxacin (15.39%) and Nalidixic acid and Ampicillin (7.07%) was detected in L. monocytogenes strains. However, no multidrug resistant L. monocytogenes was detected in the present study. The detection of antimicrobial resistant L. monocytogenes in food animals and their environment indicates that these strains may be transferred to consumers via the food chain leading to compromise in the effective treatment of human listeriosis.