in a poultry slaughterhouse: Prevalence, genotyping and antibiotic resistance pattern.

Although () is a highly significant pathogen, its source remains unclear. Many people consume chicken daily as a source of animal protein worldwide; thus, hygienic methods of supplying chickens for consumption are critical for public health. Therefore, our study examined the distribution of the (), , and virulence genes in strains in chicken meat and giblets (gizzards and livers) and the resistance of the strains to various antibiotics. Ninety chicken meat, gizzard and liver samples were obtained from a semi-automatic abattoir in Sadat City, Egypt, and were cultured and preliminarily analyzed using biochemical tests. The presence of the , , and genotypes was tested for in samples positive for by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (Multiplex-PCR). The resistance of to various antimicrobial drugs was tested using the disc diffusion method. In total, 7 of the 90 chicken samples were positive for (7.78%); in 3/7 (42.85%) samples, the bacteria were found in the chicken liver, while the bacteria were found in the meat in 2/7 (28.57%) and in the gizzard in 2/7 (28.57%) samples. The total prevalence of both the and genes in the isolated strains was 100%, while the prevalence of the and genes was 57.1% and 42.9%, respectively. The resistance of to the antibiotics utilized in our study was 100% for streptomycin; 85.7% for amoxicillin and penicillin; 71.4% for oxytetracycline, nalidixic acid and ampicillin; 57.1% for sulfamethoxazole and erythromycin; and 42.9% for neomycin, chloramphenicol and norfloxacin. In conclusion, the chicken meat and giblets were tainted by , with a higher occurrence of the , , and genotypes. Future investigations should investigate the resistance of to various antimicrobial agents in Egypt.