BACKGROUND: Infectious diseases widely occur through bacteria such as Salmonella spp. in different hosts such as domestic animals and human. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to isolate Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria from poultry feces and in vitro assessment of antimicrobial effects of 9 species of Zagros native medicinal plants. METHODS: Ethanol extracts of jooshir, shallots, Iranian eremurus, artichokes, sheng, amaranth, sorrel, oregano and harmel were extracted through rotary vacuum system. Furthermore, 12 strains of Salmonella Typhimurium were isolated from poultry feces in Sistan region. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of plant extracts were determined through micro dilution method. Sensitivity of different strains to antibiotics was tested through standard Kirby-Bauer diffusion disk methods. RESULTS: Salmonella Typhimurium strains are resistant to Penicillin (100%), Ampicillin (100%), Tetracycline (16.6%), Amikacin (8.3%) and Oxacillin (75.0%). Results of the antimicrobial assay have shown that extracts of amaranth, jooshir and artichokes had the highest MIC against Salmonella Typhimurium. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the current study showed that according to the antibiotic resistance of Salmonella Typhimurium isolated from poultry, antibiotic treatment, in particular with penicillin, ampicillin and oxacillin with the bacterium resistance of 75 to 100% would not be effective. In contrast, using plant ethanol extracts especially jooshir, amaranth and artichokes could be recommended as an alternative to conventional antibiotic treatments.

BACKGROUND: Nowadays due to the extensive use of antibiotics, antimicrobial resistance is recognized as a global concern for the health of animals and humans. The consequences of antimicrobial resistance are resistance of zoonotic pathogenic factors and reductions in the effectiveness of treatment for many diseases. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are the monitoring and prevalence of antimicrobial residues of the poultry carcasses in Kerman poultry abattoirs. METHODS: A cross sectional study was conducted from June 2015 to October 2016. A total of 474 samples were collected from Kerman province poultry abattoirs and tested with four plate test (FPT) method. Data were analyzed  using Descriptive statistics for qualitative data with 95 % confidence interval. RESULTS: A total of 38 samples were positive (8/02 %), Antibiotics isolates included: Fluoroquinolone, Macrolide, Cephalosporin, β-lactam, Tetracycline, Sulfonamide and Amino glycoside. The highest rate of antibiotics isolated in positive samples was Fluoroquinolone (36/1 %) and the lowest rate was cephalosporin (4/1 %). Half of the samples were positive for one type of antibiotic (Fluoroquinolone), 28/9 % for two types of antibiotics, 13/1 % for three types of antibiotics, 5/2%  for five kinds of antibiotics and 2/6 % for six kinds of antibiotics. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study showed that about 10 percent of the meat consumed in this province has antimicrobial residues. Therefore, it can be suggested that proper management strategies for controlling the veterinary drug usage in poultry farms be implemented.

Marek’s disease (MD) is a tumourous disease caused by Marek’s disease virus (MDV) and most commonly described in poultry. The aim of the study was to determine the occurrence of Marek’s disease virus infections in Poland and analyse clinical cases in the years 2015–2018. The birds for diagnostic examination originated from 71 poultry flocks of various types of production. Birds were subjected to anatomopathological examination post mortem, during which liver and spleen sections and other pathologically changed internal organs were taken. These sections were homogenised with generally accepted methods, then total DNA was isolated and amplified with a real-time PCR. A pair of primers complementary to the MDV genome region encoding the meq gene were used. MDV infection was found predominantly in broiler chicken flocks (69.01%), and also in layer breeder (9.85%) and commercial layer flocks (7.04% each). The results of research conducted in the years 2015–2018 clearly indicate that the problem of MDV infections is still current.

A significant threat to public health is presented by antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria, selective pressure on which results from antibiotic use. Colistin is an antibiotic commonly used in veterinary medicine, but also one of last resort in human medicine. Since the 2015 discovery in China of the mcr-1 gene encoding colistin resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, other countries have noted its presence. This study was to find the mcr-1 gene prevalence in E. coli isolated from poultry slaughtered in Poland. Cloacal swabs were taken from December 2017 to October 2018 from broiler chickens in three regions. The samples (n = 158) were grouped as flocks treated with colistin sulphate (n = 87) and those not treated (n = 71). Resistance to antimicrobials commonly used in poultry was evaluated by minimum inhibitory concentration. The presence of the mcr-1 gene was confirmed by PCR. Isolates containing the mcr-1 gene were yielded by 11.27% of the samples from not treated flocks and 19.54% of those from treated flocks, but no statistically significant difference in the prevalence of the gene was seen between the groups. The results clearly preclude intensification of selective pressure for colistin resistance due to colistin sulphate treatment because they show that the avian gastrointestinal tract was already inhabited by colistin-resistant E. coli by the time the chickens came to the poultry house.