Prevalence of Salmonella Serovars Isolated from Turkey Carcasses and Giblets in Meknès-Morocco

The present study was conducted to determine the prevalence and the serotypes involved the virulence gene (InvA and SpvC) of Salmonella isolates recovered from the raw meat and giblets (liver and gizzard) of the turkey in various outlets in the Moroccan market. From November 2011 to November 2012 a total of 192 samples of turkey meat (included 48 breasts, 48 legs, 48 gizzards and 48 livers) were collected every ten days from retail outlets in Meknès. Of these, 48 were from popular market, 48 from artisanal slaughterhouses, 48 from poulterers’shops and 48 from a supermarket at Meknes, Morocco. Of the total of 192 samples examined, 24.5% (47/192) were contaminated with Salmonella. Out of the total 48 samples analysed from popular market, 19 (40.42%) proved to be Salmonella positive whereas from 48 samples obtained from traditional slaughterhouses and 48 from poulterers’shops 14 (29.87%) and 8 (17%) contained Salmonella, respectively. Compared to other outlets, a low level of Salmonella contamination was found in samples obtained from Supermarket 6 (12.7%). Among the 47 Salmonella isolates, 6 different serotypes were identified of which S. Saintpaul (46.8%) was the most frequent, followed by S. Agona (17%) and S. Kentucky (17%), S. Typhimurium (8.5%), S. Infantis (6.3%) and S. Bredeney (4.2%).The high level of contamination, especially in popular market and artisanal slaughterhouses of turkey meat and giblets with Salmonella observed in this paper indicates the need for an improvement in the microbiological quality of retail turkey. Examination of Salmonella for invA gene was detected in all the strains (n=47), only three isolates were positive for the gene SpvC: S. Agona, S. Kentucky and S. Infantis.