ABSTRACT Poultry and other types of meat from infected animals are important vehicles of salmonellosis. Objective: To determine the susceptibility to antimicrobial agents and serovarieties of Salmonella isolated from meat and meat products. Material and Methods: A total of 159 isolates were analyzed at the Cuban National Institute of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology during the period between January 2012 and March 2020. Serotypes were determined according to ISO/TR 6579-3: 2014. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the Bauer-Kirby technique, according to the methodology described in the regulations of the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. Results: The most frequent serovarieties identified were S. Enteritidis, S. Agona, S. Derby, S. Infantis and S. London. Also, 18 (43, 9 %) of serovarieties identified in fresh meat were found in processed meat. The highest percentages were related to antimicrobial resistance to nalidixic acid, tetracycline and ampicillin. S. Enteritidis and S. Typhimurium serotypes showed resistance to a greater number of antibiotics. Conclusions: The results suggest that fresh meats are an important source of Salmonella contamination, including those that are carriers of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens.

RESUMEN Introducción: La carne de ave y otros tipos de carnes provenientes de animales infectados son importantes vehículos de salmonelosis. Objetivo: Determinar la susceptibilidad a los antimicrobianos y las serovariedades de Salmonella aisladas en carnes y productos cárnicos. Material y Métodos: Se analizaron 172 aislados en el período enero de 2012 a marzo de 2020 en el laboratorio de Microbiología del Instituto Nacional de Higiene Epidemiología y Microbiología de Cuba. El serotipaje se determinó según la norma ISO/TR 6579-3:2014. La susceptibilidad antimicrobiana se realizó mediante el método de difusión con discos (Bauer-Kirby) de acuerdo con la metodología descrita en la normativa del Instituto de Normas Clínicas y de Laboratorio. Resultados: Las serovariedades identificadas con mayor frecuencia fueron: S. Enteritidis, S. Agona, S. Derby, S. Infantis y S. London, 18 (43,9 %) serovariedades identificadas en las carnes frescas también se encontraron en las procesadas. Los porcentajes más altos de resistencia antimicrobiana se hallaron frente al ácido nalidíxico, la tetraciclina y la ampicilina.S. Enteritidis y S. Typhimurium expresaron resistencia a un mayor número de antibióticos. Conclusiones: Los resultados sugieren que las carnes frescas constituyen una fuente de diseminación de Salmonella, incluso aquellas portadoras de resistencia a los antimicrobianos.

Abstract INTRODUCTION Antimicrobial drug resistance constitutes a health risk of increasing concern worldwide. One of the most common avenues for the acquisition of clinically-relevant antimicrobial resistance can be traced back to the food supply, where resistance is acquired through the ingestion of antimicrobial resistant microorganisms present in food. Antimicrobial resistance constitutes a health risk, leading to production losses and negative consequences for livelihood and food safety. OBJECTIVE Determine whether resistant bacteria are present in foods in Cuba. METHODS A descriptive observational study was conducted in the Microbiology Laboratory of Cuba’s National Institute of Hygiene, Epidemiology and Microbiology from September 2004 through December 2018. Researchers analyzed 1178 bacterial isolates from food samples. The isolates were identified as Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Vibrio cholerae and coagulase-positive Staphylococcus. The antimicrobial susceptibility study was performed using the Bauer-Kirby disk diffusion method, following procedures outlined by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute. The data were analyzed using WHONET version 5.6. RESULTS Of the total isolates, 62.1% were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Within each group, >50% of isolates showed some type of resistance. E. coli and V. cholerae exceeded 50% resistance to tetracycline and ampicillin, respectively. Staphylococcus showed the highest resistance to penicillin, and Salmonella to tetracycline, nalidixic acid and ampicillin. The highest percentages of non-susceptible microorganisms were identified in meats and meat products. CONCLUSIONS These results serve as an alert to the dangers of acquiring antibiotic-resistant bacteria from food and demonstrate the need to establish a surveillance system and institute measures bacterial control in food products.