Health alert after bugs detected in supermarket pork, poultry

This is because scientists have found antimicrobial resistant pathogens in raw pork and poultry meat in some of the retail outlets in Kenya.

Farming campaigns manager at World Animal Protection Africa Victor Yamo said out of the 393 samples collected, 98.4 per cent of pork and 96.6 per cent of poultry were contaminated with high levels of bacteria.

“Among the 611 bacterial isolates recovered, 38.5 per cent were multi-drug resistant,” he said.

Yamo said the resistance was noted for critically essential antimicrobials (according to the WHO) such as rifampicin (96%), ampicillin (35%), cefotaxime (9%), cefepime (6%) and ciprofloxacin (6%)

Moreover, there was a high resistance to key antimicrobials for veterinary medicine such as tetracycline (39%), sulfamethoxazole (33%) and trimethoprim (30%).

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global health concern caused by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials. This has led to microorganisms (including bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites) becoming resistant to the effects of these medications.

Yamo said there is increasing proof of bacterial resistance to antibiotics all over the world. This puts the effectiveness of antimicrobials that have been essential in decreasing disease mortality and morbidity at stake.

The World Health Organization has labeled some classes of antimicrobials as vitally important to human health. Bacteria from animals are thought to be reservoirs of resistance genes that can be transferred to humans through the food chain.

“It is essential to spread awareness about the judicious use of antibiotics and take preventive measures to reduce disease burden,” he said.

The study was published by the Journal of Antibiotics and supported by the World Animal Protection. It was aimed at identifying the resistance patterns of bacteria from pork and poultry meat samples purchased from leading retail outlets in Kenya.

According to the study, out of the 393 pork and poultry samples, 107 were obtained from an international and one regional outlet. The majority of the samples were taken from the fridge/freezer and fresh meat section, while only seven samples were acquired from the supermarket shelves.

Yamo, a co-author of the study, said Nairobi accounted for most of the samples collected, with nearly 75 per cent of pork and 63 per cent of poultry.

“This is because most of the supermarkets are concentrated in Nairobi, with a few in other big towns in Kenya," he said.

"For example, at the time of sampling, the publicly available information on their websites showed that 89 per cent of international supermarket outlets were in Nairobi, while 37 per cent of the regional supermarket outlets were found in Nairobi, with the rest situated in other big towns which include Mombasa, Kisumu and Nakuru.”

Nearly 98 per cent of pork and 96 per cent of poultry samples tested revealed the presence of at least one type of bacterium.

The study showed that Escherichia coli was the most common gram-negative bacteria in both pork and poultry samples at 47 and 49 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, Staphylococcus spp. (gram-positive) was found in 28 pork and 13 poultry samples.

The study noted a high risk of food safety concerns, with chicken meat and pork from both local and international supermarkets in Kenya being found contaminated with bacterial contaminants, potentially spreading foodborne illnesses.

Yamo said it is essential to enforce high standards of food hygiene and sanitation throughout the supply chain, especially at the time of slaughter and packaging. He said this prevents the introduction of bacteria to food and the subsequent spread of foodborne pathogens.

The study revealed that resistance to essential classes of antibiotics, such as cephalosporins, aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones, is not high.

“However, an analysis of similar data showed that resistance might be increasing over time. Moreover, the analysis of our data showed worrying levels of resistance to tetracycline and penicillin, two of the most commonly used antibiotics in animal agriculture," Yamo said.

He said this demonstrates the need for responsible antibiotic use, improved and humane animal production methods, and increased biosecurity levels.

“It is particularly concerning that a few isolates were resistant to more than three types of antibiotics, which could make it more difficult to treat foodborne illnesses and other diseases. With new resistance mechanisms emerging and spreading globally, there is a need for a concerted effort to gain insights on how to better tackle AMR as well as raise awareness,” Yamo said.