Project Summary
Purpose
The New Mexico Department of Health Scientific Laboratory Division (NMDOH SLD)
has participated in the Retail Meat Surveillance (RMS) since 2004.The RMS study has
traditionally focused on retail meat samples like raw chicken, ground turkey, ground beef,
and pork that are derived from farm based live-stock animals such as bovines, poultry,
and swine. The associated bacterial targets from these meat matrices have been
Salmonella species, Campylobacter species (primarily C. jejuni and C. coli),
Enterococcus species, and E. coli. Recently the National Antimicrobial Resistance
Monitoring System (NARMS) program has moved in a strategic direction with an
emphasis on a One Health model of monitoring, which is a multisectoral and
transdisciplinary approach that looks at the interconnections between people, animals,
plants, and the environment. This has and will continue to bring about new pilot studies
that will expand testing to other meat matrices as well as to environmental samples such
as surface waters and soils.
The Environmental Microbiology (EM) Laboratory at NMDOH SLD is currently
participating in the latest NARMS pilot study involving seafood and is doing well with
isolating the intended targets: Vibrio species, Aeromonas species, Enterococcus species,
and Lactose fermenters. EM Laboratory enjoys participating in the pilot study and
currently has some method modifications to better improve recovery of some of the listed
targets. The seafood pilot study is particularly important because the consumption of
seafood, particularly aquaculture products, is projected to significantly increase and such
industries rely heavily on the use of antibiotics to combat infectious diseases that threaten
production.
Purchasing activities have been limited, in terms of the monthly shopping frequency for
raw meat samples and time allotments for such operations (limited to 3 hours), due to a
shortage of qualified purchasing personnel equipped with P-cards. The EM Laboratory
was recently provided with a P-card which will make it possible to expand shopping /
sample gathering capabilities for the start of this upcoming grant cycle. No longer will the
EM Laboratory be limited to just one shopping event per month, but instead is planning
on going once per week. EM Laboratory personnel will additionally be able to purchase
retail meat samples from other cities across the entire state of New Mexico that previously
was not possible. Such temporal and geographical expansions should overall provide for
more meaningful data to the NARMS program.
Expected Outcomes
The goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance among
Salmonella, Campylobacter, E. coli and Enterococci isolated from retail samples of retail
chicken, ground turkey, ground beef and pork chops purchased from grocery stores in
New Mexico. The information obtained will also help our epidemiologists better
understand the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in New Mexico. The laboratory will
continue to provide testing for this project following established procedures and also
participate in any pilot studies that are introduced. The approval of a P-card for the EM
section will allow for additional coverage with the state of New Mexico over the five-year
grant project.
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