Salmonella Shedding in Slaughter Pigs and the Use of Esterified Formic Acid in the Drinking Water as a Potential Abattoir-Based Mitigation Measure

Bernad-Roche, M. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Casanova-Higes, A. (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Marín-Alcalá, C.M. ; Mainar-Jaime, R. (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Pigs shedding Salmonella at slaughter are considered a source of carcass contamination and human infection. To assess this potential risk, the proportion of Salmonella shedders that arrive for slaughter was evaluated in a population of 1068 pigs from 24 farms. Shedding was present in 27.3% of the pigs, and the monophasic variant of Salmonella Typhimurium, an emerging zoonotic serotype, was the most prevalent (46.9%). Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella isolates was common, but few isolates showed AMR to antimicrobials of critical importance for humans such as third-generation cephalosporins (5%), colistin (0%), or carbapenems (0%). However, AMR to tigecycline was moderately high (15%). The efficacy of an esterified formic acid in the lairage drinking water (3 kg formic acid/1000 L) was also assessed as a potential abattoir-based strategy to reduce Salmonella shedding. It was able to reduce the proportion of shedders (60.7% in the control group (CG) vs. 44.3% in the treatment group (TG); p < 0.01). After considering clustering and confounding factors, the odds of shedding Salmonella in the CG were 2.75 (95% CI = 1.80–4.21) times higher than those of the TG, suggesting a potential efficacy of reduction in shedding as high as 63.6%. This strategy may contribute to mitigating the burden of abattoir environmental contamination.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/ani12131620

Año: 2022

Publicado en: Animals 12, 13 (2022), 1620 [16 pp.]
ISSN: 2076-2615

Factor impacto JCR: 3.0 (2022)

Categ. JCR: VETERINARY SCIENCES rank: 13 / 144 = 0.09 (2022) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE rank: 12 / 62 = 0.194 (2022) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 4.2 - Veterinary (Q1) - Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.684 - Veterinary (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Animal Science and Zoology (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MICINN/RTI2018-093915-B-I00

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Sanidad Animal (Dpto. Patología Animal)