As a step toward implementing the Colombian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (COIPARS), this study aimed to establish the baseline antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella serovars, Escherichia coli, and Enterococcus spp. isolates in retail poultry meat from independent stores and from a main chain distributor center. MICs of the isolates were determined for antimicrobials used both in humans and animals, using an automated system. Salmonella serovars were isolated from 26% of the meat samples and E. coli from 83%, whereas Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium were detected in 81 and 13% of the meat samples, respectively. A principal finding of concern in this study was that almost 98% of isolates tested were multidrug resistant. Ceftiofur, enrofloxacin, nalidixic acid, and tetracycline were the antimicrobials that showed the highest frequency of resistance among Salmonella and E. coli isolates. For enterococci, 61.5% of E. faecium isolates were found to be resistant to quinupristin-dalfopristin; this is significant because it is used to treat nosocomial infections when vancomycin resistance is present. Vancomycin resistance was detected in 4% of the E. faecalis isolates. The results of our study highlight the need for rapid implementation of an integrated program for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance by the Colombian authorities in order to monitor trends, raise awareness, and help promote practices to safeguard later generation antimicrobial agents.

Introducción. El aumento de las enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos se ha constituido en un problema de salud pública. La listeriosis, cuyo agente etiológico es Listeria monocytogenes, es considerada de gran relevancia entre las ellas y los alimentos listos para el consumo de ventas al por menor son de gran riesgo. Objetivo. Identificar la presencia de L. monocytogenes en alimentos listos para el consumo, procedentes de plazas de mercado y delicatessen de Bogotá. Materiales y métodos. Se llevó a cabo un estudio descriptivo transversal con componente analítico, en el cual se analizaron 600 alimentos, 300 de delicatessen y 300 de plazas de mercado. Se utilizaron metodologías de referencia de presencia o ausencia de L. monocytogenes en 25 g o mililitros de alimento. Resultados. De las 600 muestras analizadas, 68 fueron positivas para L. monocytogenes (11,3 %), 26 (38,25 %) procedieron de delicatessen, 42 (61,76 %) de plazas de mercado. El serotipo aislado con mayor frecuencia fue 4b en 53 (78 %) aislamientos. Los quesos frescos y los quesos madurados mostraron mayor contaminación de L. monocytogenes que el resto de alimentos del estudio (p=0,0009/0,0003). Conclusión. Los resultados indican que estos alimentos son vehículos de transmisión del microorganismo, convirtiéndolos en potenciales alimentos de alto riesgo; deben ser vigilados y controlados por la autoridad competente. Se requieren programas para implementar la normativa sobre vigilancia, reducción y control de este microorganismo con miras hacia la prevención de las enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos.Palabras clave: Listeria monocytogenes, enfermedades transmitidas por alimentos, listeriosis, salud pública. Presence of Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods available in open markets, delicatessens and supermarkets, Bogotá, 2002-2008Introduction. The increase in diseases transmitted by foods has become a public health problem. Listeria monocytogenes, the etiological agent of listeriosis or typical food poisoning, is considered to be among the most important food borne illnesses. High risk foods for L.monocytogenes have been recognized as foods already prepared for consumption and made available in retail outlets. Objective. The presence of L. monocytogenes was identified in prepared foods found in open markets and delicatessens in the city of Bogotá. Material and methods. A transverse descriptive study over a 7-year period, with an analytic component, in which 600 foods were analyzed--300 from delicatessens and 300 from open market places. Reference methods were used to determine the presence or absence of L. monocytogenes in 25 grams or milliliters a food sample. Results. Of the 600 samples, 68 were positive for L. monocytogenes (11.3%). Twenty-six (38.2%) were taken from delicatessens and 42 (61.8%) from open market places. The serotype most frequently isolated was 4b, with 53 (78.0%) isolations. Fresh cheeses and matured cheeses showed greater contamination with L. monocytogenes than the other foods (p<0.001 in both cases). Conclusions.The r...