Slaughterhouses are a key source of bacterial contamination in poultry meat and products, which is a major health and economic concern for several public authorities. This study aimed to quantify the non-compliance of bacterial contamination on chicken meat sampled from slaughterhouses and identify risk factors associated with the contamination. A questionnaire survey of 569 chicken slaughterhouses was undertaken and 1,707 meat samples were collected to determine the level of bacterial contamination. The proportion of the non-compliance associated with aerobic plate count [APC] (24.6%), Staphylococcus aureus (6.3%), Enterococcus spp. (24.7%), coliforms (13.5%), Escherichia coli (33.3%), and Salmonella spp. (33.4%) based on the livestock authorities’ criteria was determined. Our results highlighted that the scalding process without scalding water temperature control or improper scalding increased the risk of APC (odds ratio, OR = 4.84, 95% CI: 2.72–8.61), S. aureus (OR = 2.68, 95% CI: 1.29–5.55), Enterococcus spp. (OR = 3.38, 95% CI: 2.01–5.69), coliforms (OR = 3.01, 95% CI: 1.47–6.15), and E. coli (OR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.58–4.56) contamination on meat samples. Meat from eviscerated carcasses was more likely to be non-compliance due to contamination by E. coli (OR = 1.96, 95% CI: 1.14–3.38). Furthermore, open or semi-closed system slaughterhouses (OR = 1.79, 95% CI: 1.23–2.60) and lack of equipment for specific slaughtering areas (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 1.04–2.61) increased the likelihood of Salmonella spp. occurrence. This is the first study of factors influencing the non-compliance of meat samples across Thailand. Authorities can use the study findings to enhance food safety strategies at the national level.

In this research, we aimed to reduce the bacterial loads of Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in pork and chicken meat with skin by applying cold plasma in a liquid state or liquid plasma. The results showed reductions in S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, E. coli, and C. jejuni on the surface of pork and chicken meat after 15 min of liquid plasma treatment on days 0, 3, 7, and 10. However, the efficacy of the reduction in S. aureus was lower after day 3 of the experiment. Moreover, P. aeruginosa could not be inactivated under the same experimental conditions. The microbial decontamination with liquid plasma did not significantly reduce the microbial load, except for C. jejuni, compared with water immersion. When compared with a control group, the pH value and water activity of pork and chicken samples treated with liquid plasma were significantly different (p ≤ 0.05), with a downward trend that was similar to those of the control and water groups. Moreover, the redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) values (CIELAB) of the meat decreased. Although the liquid plasma group resulted in an increase in the lightness (L*) values of the pork samples, these values did not significantly change in the chicken samples. This study demonstrated the efficacy of liquid plasma at reducing S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium, E. coli, C. jejuni, and S. aureus on the surface of pork and chicken meat during three days of storage at 4–6 °C with minimal undesirable meat characteristics.

This study characterizes clinical methicillin-resistant staphylococcal (MRS) isolates obtained from superficial pyoderma infections in dogs. Our interest was to determine the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type and the antimicrobial susceptibility among MRS isolates from clinical cases. Skin swabs were collected and cultured. Staphylococcus species were identified and characterized with biochemical tests and MALDI-TOF-MS and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disk diffusion. mecA detection and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) typing were achieved by PCR. Of the 65 clinical samples, 56 (86.2%) staphylococcal infections were identified. Twelve (21%) of 56 isolates were MRS infections. All MRS isolates were multidrug resistant. The ccrC and class-C2 mec, which were SCCmec type V, were the most prevalent (66.7%) among the 12 MRS isolates. The predominant SCCmec type V was found in S. aureus, S. intermedius group, S. lentus, S. xylosus, and S. arlettae. Treatment failure is a concern with the emergence of highly resistant MRS in dogs associated with superficial pyoderma. The detection of type V SCCmec MRS has previously been reported among veterinarians and dog owners but not in Northern Thailand. These infections serve as a reminder to improve infection prevention and control measures including reducing environmental contamination and potential zoonotic exposures to MRS. In addition, educational awareness of these risks in small animal hospitals needs to be increased among veterinary hospital staff, clients, and patients.

In Vietnam, vaccination has played a crucial role in the national strategy for the prevention and control of H5 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). This study aimed to evaluate antibody responses of immunologically naïve domestic ducks to H5N1 avian influenza vaccine currently used in the national mass vaccination program of Vietnam. Blood samples of 166 ducks reared on smallholder farms were individually collected at three sampling time points, namely, right before vaccination, 21 days after primary vaccination, and 21 days after booster vaccination. Vaccine-induced antibody titers of duck sera were measured by the hemagglutination inhibition assay. Temporal differences in mean antibody titers were analyzed using the generalized least-squares method. No sampled ducks showed anti-H5 seropositivity pre-vaccination. The geometric mean titer (GMT) of the vaccinated ducks was 5.30 after primary vaccination, with 80% of the vaccinated ducks showing seropositivity. This result indicates that the immunity of duck flocks met the targets of the national poultry H5N1 HPAI mass vaccination program. GMT and seropositive rates of the ducks were 6.48 and 96.3%, respectively, after booster vaccination, which were significantly higher than those after primary vaccination. Flock-level seroprotection rate significantly increased from 68% to 84.7%, whereas variability in GMT titers decreased from 34.87% to 26.3%. This study provided important information on humoral immune responses of ducks to the currently used H5N1 vaccine under field conditions. Our findings may help guide veterinary authorities in planning effective vaccine protocols for the prevention and control of H5N1 in the target poultry population.