United States: antimicrobial resistance in certain bacteria isolated from raw meat and poultry

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released two reports that measure antimicrobial resistance in certain bacteria isolated from raw meat and poultry collected through the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS).

The agency is releasing its 2012 Retail Meat Report, which summarizes key findings in antimicrobial resistance related to raw chicken, ground turkey, ground beef and pork chops collected at retail stores. The second report released is the 2013 Retail Meat Interim Report, which contains data from January – December 2013 and focuses only on Salmonella, a pathogen of concern in foodborne disease outbreaks.

Together, the reports reveal a number of encouraging findings:

• Although current cephalosporin resistance levels are above 2002 levels, a recent decrease in third-generation cephalosporin resistance among poultry meats continued in 2012 and 2013. Resistance in Salmonella from retail chicken declined from a peak of 38 percent in 2009 to 28 percent in 2012 and continued to decline to 20 percent in 2013. Resistance in ground turkey peaked in 2011 at 22 percent and declined to 18 percent in 2012, falling to 9 percent by 2013.
• Salmonella from retail meats remained susceptible to ciprofloxacin, one of the most important antibiotics for treating Salmonella infections. Similarly, Salmonella from retail meats were susceptible to azithromycin, another important antibiotic recommended for treatment of Salmonella and other intestinal pathogens.
• While multi-drug resistant Salmonella (resistant to three or more classes of antibiotics) was detected in all retail meat sources there was a decline in the overall proportion of Salmonella poultry isolates that were multi-drug resistant between 2011 and 2013.
• In 2012, only 1% of C. jejuni from retail chicken were resistant to erythromycin, the drug of choice for treating Campylobacter infections.

The reports also reveal a finding of concern:

• Since the FDA withdrew approval for the use of fluoroquinolones in poultry in 2005, we have not observed any consistent changes in fluoroquinolone resistance among C. jejuni and C. coli recovered from retail chicken.