Isolation and identification of Salmonellae from chicken carcasses in processing plants in Yazd province, central Iran

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Salmonellae contamination of chicken carcasses in slaughterhouses in central Iran (Yazd province). 435 samples were obtained from liver, breast—before and after chilling—and bacteriological and serological examinations were done. The results showed that the rate of contamination of liver, breast meat—before and after chiller—were 8.1, 18.48 and 34.45%, respectively. Serological tests showed that S. typhimurium was the main contaminant of the samples (52.2%). Other isolated serotypes were S. newport (15.6%), S. enteritidis (12.2%), S. havana (8.9%), S. dublin (5.6%) and S. paratyphi-B (5.6%). Bacteriological examinations on water of chiller indicated that 33.3% of chill water samples were contaminated with S. typhimurium, 8.3% with S. dublin and 8.3% with S. paratyphi-B.