Slaughterhouses may be hotspots for the transmission of antimicrobial resistant pathogens.

To obtain information on the antimicrobial resistance landscape in Kenyan slaughterhouses, a team of scientists from the International Livestock Research Institute and others collected swabs of the environment, animal carcasses, and workers.

They identified bacterial isolates in 52.3 % of 193 samples, and most isolates showed resistance to streptomycin (68.7 %), ampicillin (48.7 %), and tetracycline (42.5 %).

About 44% of the 80 isolates showed multi-drug resistance, while 6.3% of isolates expressed Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase.

These findings illustrate the presence of resistant bacteria throughout the slaughterhouse environment, posing a risk to workers and meat consumers.

This highlights the need for an integrated surveillance system along the food chain.

Citation
Hamilton, K.A., Njoroge, S.M., Momanyi, K., Murungi, M.K., Odinga, C.O., Bor, N., Ogendo, A., Odaba, J., Ogola, J.G., Fèvre, E.M. and Falzon, L.C. 2024. The antimicrobial resistance landscape of slaughterhouses in western Kenya: A microbiological case study. One Health 19: 100899.

Photo: A typical mixed crop-livestock farming household, western Kenya (ILRI/Charlie Pye-Smith)