Antibiogram of food borne pathogenic bacteria isolated from raw pork and beef meat

Meat is an ideal medium of growth for many organisms because it is high in moisture, rich in nitrogenous compounds (amino acids, peptides, and proteins), minerals, and accessory growth factors. This study isolated foodborne bacteria pathogens from raw pork and beef meat sold in some selected slaughter markets (Alakahia, Rumuosi, and Rumuokoro). We subjected the meat samples to a total viable count (TVC) and a total coliform count (TCC). The highest TVC and TCC for pork meat were log10 7.29 CFU/g and log10 8.66 CFU/g, respectively. For beef meat, TVC and TCC were log10 7.45 CFU/g and log10 6.25 CFU/g, respectively. In this study, most log TVC and TCC counts exceeded the permissible level (log10 ≥6 CFU/g). The most common bacteria found were Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, and Proteus mirabilis. These bacteria were found in 35.2% of pork meat, 23.6% of beef meat, 35.8% of pork meat, and 7.4% of beef meat, respectively. The rates of antibiotic resistance of the pathogens ranged from 10–87.8% for pork and 14.3–88.5% for beef samples. Ampiclox, amoxicillin, streptomycin, and gentamycin exhibited higher antibiotic resistance. We observed the lowest resistance for ciclopirox, olamine, and cephaloridine. Also, the Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index of bacterial isolates ranged from 0.5 to 0.9. This study confirmed an elevated prevalence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, and Staphylococcus aureus in raw meat products and found the bacterial strains to be resistant to multiple commonly employed antibiotics. Hence, the occurrence and presence of multidrug-resistant foodborne bacterial isolates is an indication that fresh beef meat products may act as reservoirs of drug-resistant bacteria. Careful handling of meat products and effective use of antibiotics are essential to controlling and preventing the spread of these pathogens.