Geographical Variation of Antimicrobial Resistance of in Japanese Chicken.

Chicken is a potent source of infection in humans. Occasionally, patients with severe enteritis require antimicrobial therapy. Antimicrobials are used to prevent and treat bacterial infections in broiler and breeder farms. Herein, we investigated the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of in 337 vacuum-packed chicken breast products manufactured in Japan between June and December 2021. was isolated from 287 samples (85.2%). Among the products from Eastern Japan, the lowest prevalence was observed in those processed in September (65.6%), which was significantly ( < 0.05) lower than that in November or December. Among the products from Western Japan, the lowest prevalence was observed in those processed in August (61.9%), which was significantly ( < 0.05) lower than that in June, November, and December. The most frequent serovar was Schwarzengrund (223 isolates), followed by Infantis (53 isolates), Manhattan (9 isolates), and Enteritidis (1 isolate). High rates of antimicrobial resistance were observed for streptomycin (64.5%), kanamycin (50.2%), tetracycline (65.2%), nalidixic acid (11.5%), and trimethoprim (35.9%). Resistance rates against these five antimicrobials in . Schwarzengrund isolates were markedly higher in the isolates from Western Japan than in those from Eastern Japan. All 287 isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin which belongs to fluoroquinolones and cefotaxime which belongs to third-generation cephalosporins. prevalence in chicken products in Japan was found to be extremely high; therefore, chicken meat should be thoroughly heated before consumption. In Japan, fluoroquinolones and third-generation cephalosporins are recommended as the first- and second-choice antimicrobials for patients with severe enteritis, respectively. The results of this study show that administering fluoroquinolones or third-generation cephalosporins is an effective option for patients with enteritis caused by consuming chicken meat, and efficient strategies for management on broiler farms and chicken-processing plants need to be developed.