High Prevalence of Antibiotic Residues among Broiler Chickens in Gaza Strip

Abstract

This study was carried out to evaluate the presence of some antimicrobial residues in broilers slaughtered in Gaza strip. Three hundred sixty five chicken breast samples were collected from poultry slaughterhouses distributed in the study area. Samples were screened for the presence of β-lactams, aminoglycosides, macrolides and tetracyclines (as groups) using a 7-Plate bioassay method. Chicken carcasses were divided into three categories; category (A); ≤1.5 kg, category (B); > 1.5-2 kg and category (C)>2 kg. A total of 88 (24.1%) samples were positive for one or more of antibiotic residues, (53.41%) of them were from category (A), followed by (32.95%) for category (B) and the least category was group (C) (13.63%). Tetracyclines, aminoglycosides, β-lactams and macrolides residues were detected in 41(43.15%), 26(27.36%), 20(21%) and 8(8.42%) respectively. Results confirmed the presence of antibiotic residues in poultry meat samples. Thus, it is highly recommended to establish a national monitoring program for antimicrobial residues in foods.