Higher level of Quinolones residue in poultry meat and eggs; an alarming public health issue in Nepal

BackgroundWith extensive use of antimicrobial agents in poultry production to prevent and treat diseases and as growth promoters, there has been an increase in antibiotic residue in the poultry meat and eggs. Quinolones are one of the highly prioritized, critically important drugs, whose residue in poultry can cause transmission of resistant zoonotic pathogens to humans. This study was conducted to assess the qualitative and quantitative residue of the quinolone in meat and eggs supplied to Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. MethodsA standard questionnaire was used to identify the trend of antibiotic application in the poultry industry. Epicollect+ android application was used for the survey. A total of 120 meat samples and 120 egg samples were collected from the specified five sectors. Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbant Assay was employed to screen antimicrobial residues in the samples. Only the samples with antimicrobial residues above maximum residual limit value were quantified with High Performance Liquid Chromatography. ResultAbout 88.33% of chicken meat and 80% egg samples were positive for Quinolone residue. Three meat samples from Kathmandu had residues above the maximum residue level (MRL). One sample each from commercial and education sector showed Enrofloxacin residues while 1 sample from the health sector showed residues of both Enrofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin. The egg samples of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur district contained 83.9%, 76.9% and 65% Quinolone residues respectively. While the eggs collected from household sector had the highest (100%) Quinolone residues than eggs from any other sectors followed by the lowest (66.6%) in eggs from the education sector (p=0.005). ConclusionA high level of Quinolone residue in the chicken meat and egg samples in the study indicates the imprudent and haphazard use of antibiotics which is a cause of emergence of antimicrobial resistant poultry pathogens alarming the potential transmission of resistance to human pathogens.