Vet Med - Czech, 2026, 71(10):422-433 | DOI: 10.17221/76/2025-VETMED

Salmonella enterica isolates from poultry in North-Central Nigeria reveal multidrug-resistant patterns and risk of contamination to the human food chainOriginal Paper

AO Sanni ORCID...1,2, AH Jibril ORCID...3, A Jonker ORCID...1, FO Fasina ORCID...1,4
1 Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, South Africa
2 Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project, Lokoja, Kogi State, Nigeria
3 Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Sokoto State, Nigeria
4 Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA), Florida Park, Roodepoort, South Africa

Non-typhoidal (NT) salmonellosis is a major poultry-associated bacterial zoonosis. We undertook environmental sampling (poultry faeces and dust, n = 600) to evaluate the prevalence of NT Salmonella in poultry farms in North-Central Nigeria (NCN). Samples from five NCN states and Abuja were processed using standard bacterial culture and the invA-based PCR method, and isolates were tested against the 11 most used poultry antimicrobials by means of the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method. We measured inhibition zones using WHONET to classify resistance patterns. The overall prevalence rate was 18.7%, and prevalence rates in dust and faeces were 20.5% and 17.1%, respectively. Prevalence was lower in battery-caged birds, in flocks >1 000 birds, in older birds (>52 weeks, one year) and in layer farms. The odds of infection with NT Salmonella was ≥ twofold in younger birds. Isolates were most resistant to tetracycline (73.8%), nalidixic acid (59.5%) and sulphonamides (54.8%) and were most susceptible to ceftazidime (88.1%) and cefotaxime (78.6%). Single drug-resistant, multidrug-resistant, extensively drug-resistant and pandrug-resistant isolates were obtained, indicating abuse of antimicrobials in the poultry industry. Stricter control of access to antimicrobials will mitigate antimicrobial resistant pathogens, and inaction will complicate antimicrobial resistance in the human food chain with subsequent health and economic implications.

Keywords: antibacterial susceptibility; environmental contamination; food safety; livestock pathogens; zoonotic bacteria

Received: October 1, 2025; Revised: June 11, 2026; Accepted: June 15, 2026; Prepublished online: October 14, 2026; Published: October 15, 2026  Show citation

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Sanni A, Jibril A, Jonker A, Fasina F. Salmonella enterica isolates from poultry in North-Central Nigeria reveal multidrug-resistant patterns and risk of contamination to the human food chain. Veterinární medicína. 2026;71(10):422-433. doi: 10.17221/76/2025-VETMED.
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