Prevalence of virulent genes in Salmonella isolated from some raw meat products By DR.Mahmoud Ezzat * Helal, I. M. *Hagar G. Elbakry ** mezzat05@yahoo.com ihabhelal@yahoo.com bakry_hagar@yahoo.com *Bacteriology department, Faculty of Vet. Med., Suez Canal University and **Food Hygiene Department (Port-Said branch), Animal Health Research Institute, ARC

Two hundred random samples of raw meat products were collected from different markets in Port- Said city under aseptic condition for isolation and identification of Salmonella spp. The results revealed the isolation of 7 Salmonella isolates with a percentage of 3.5%. The isolates were S. Anatum, S. Enteritidis, S. Hato and S. Lamberhurst with a percentage of 28.6%, 14.3%, 28.6% and 28.6% respectively. The antibiotic resistance of Salmonella isolates was detected for 12 antibacterial agents by disk diffusion method. All the isolates were resistant to Amoxicilline/clavulinic a., Doxicyciline and Erythromycin. One hundred percent of the isolates were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Chloramphenicol and Gentamycin. The PCR assays using specific primers for the detection of different virulence genes of Salmonella spp. revealed the presence of invA, csgD, stn, ompA and ompF genes in all 7 Salmonella serovars. The public health hazard of theses isolated strains, as well as recommended measures to improve quality status of processed meet were discussed.Key words: Salmonella spp., processed meat, antibacterial resistance genes, PCR, Public health.