Prevalence of antimicrobial residues in raw table eggs from farms and retail outlets in Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The use of antimicrobial agents in poultry production results in their accumulation in the body tissues and products such as milk and egg. The subsequent accumulation of these drugs and their metabolites in body cells is known as drug residue. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial residues in eggs from poultry farms and retail outlets in Enugu State, Nigeria. Eggs from 25 selected commercial farms and ten retail outlets were screened for the prevalence of antimicrobial residue. Also, structured questionnaires were administered to 25 commercial farms in the state to determine the management practices and the most widely used antimicrobial drugs in farms and possible association between the management practices and the occurrence of antimicrobial residues in eggs from these farms. All the 25 farms surveyed use oxytetracycline. Eggs from nine of the surveyed farms tested positive for antimicrobial residue and three of the ten surveyed farms also tested positive for antimicrobial residue. No association was observed (p 0.05; Fisher's exact test) between the occurrence of antibiotic residues in eggs and farm size, feed source and housing systems. This study was able to demonstrate the presence of antimicrobial residues in eggs destined for human consumption. Drugs like nitrofurans which has been banned for use in food animals are still very much in use in Enugu State, Nigeria. Antibiotics given as feed additives may give rise to drug residues in food animals.

Food safety risk posed to consumers of table eggs from layer farms in Gauteng Province, South Africa: Prevalence of Salmonella species and Escherichia coli, antimicrobial residues, and antimicrobial resistant bacteria

“…The farm prevalence and egg prevalence for antimicrobial residues was 2.6 and 0.5%, respectively, for table eggs in the current study. The farm prevalence is considerably lower than the 100% reported for table eggs sampled from 29 smallholder layer farmers in Tanzania (Nonga et al, ), the 61–72% reported over monthly samplings of layer farms in Sudan (Sirdar, Picard, Bisschop, Jambalang, & Gummow, ), the 36% reported for eggs from 25 commercial layer farms in Enugu, Nigeria (Ezenduka et al, ), and the 6.5% for 23 commercial layer farms in Trinidad (Adesiyun, Offiah, Lashley, et al, ). Regarding the egg prevalence of residues in pooled egg contents, only 0.5% (1/196) sample was positive in the current study which is considerably lower than 6.5–100.0% reported by others elsewhere (Adesiyun, Offiah, Lashley, et al, ; Mbodi, Nguku, Okolocha, & Kabir, ); Nonga et al, ; Sasanya et al, ).…”

“…To date, of all bacterial pathogens, Salmonella , particularly S . Enteritidis, has been the most important cause of outbreaks of foodborne diseases (Ezenduka, Oboegbulem, Nwanta, & Onunkwo, ; Guo, Su, Huang, & Niu, ). Other enteric pathogens, such as Campylobacter spp., particularly C .…”

Occurrence and antibiogram of <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> in dairy products consumed in parts of Kaduna State, Nigeria

“…The high percentage occurrence of multiple antibiotics resistance (MAR) index (64.29%) among the S. aureus isolates might have arisen due to common practices such as self medication and over the counter usage of antibiotics. In addition to this is continued administration of antibiotics repeatedly against infections that appear non-responsive to the normal dose given earlier (Ezenduka et al 2011). …”

Occurrence and antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in retail raw table eggs sold for human consumption in Enugu state, Nigeria

“…In Nigeria, poultry industry is at infancy and small/local farmers and ill persons easily purchase drugs over the counter without prescription by a veterinarian or a medical practitioner. This encourages the misuse and abuse of these antimicrobials, especially the cheap/affordable ones [47]. Another reason for the resistance could be because these antimicrobials have been in use in the poultry industry over a long period of time, and so microorganisms could have developed resistance to them over time.…”