Background and Aim: Arcobacter is a food-borne pathogen associated with human and animal infections. In Iraq, these infections and their adverse effects on public health have not been well investigated. For this reason, as well as to submit data on the resistance to antimicrobials and antibiotypes of the Arcobacter spp. and their occurrence in retail meat in the Wasit marketplaces, this study was undertaken.

Materials and Methods: A total of 83 samples of fresh raw (n=35) and chilled meat (n=48) were purchased randomly from marketplaces in various regions of the Wasit Governorate. Bacterial detection was conducted using cultural methods, biochemical analysis, and the Oxoid Biomedical Identification System Campy. Confirmation of these bacteria at the species level was performed using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction method. Susceptibility of the Arcobacter spp. to antimicrobials was investigated in 11 isolates comprising Arcobacter butzleri (n=9) and Arcobacter cryaerophilus (n=2) using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method.

Results: A total of 32 (38.6%) of the 83 fresh raw and chilled meat samples tested positive for Arcobacter spp.; of those, 27 (84.4%) and 5 (15.6%) were recognized as A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus, respectively. Maximum resistance was perceived, respectively, to tetracycline, erythromycin, and ampicillin (90.9%, 81.8%, and 81.8%, respectively). In contrast, a low resistance rate against fluoroquinolones up to 9.09% was found. Antibiograms of the A. butzleri and A. cryaerophilus isolates yielded ten antibiotypes. The vast majority of the isolates (90.91%) were resistant to no fewer than three classes of antimicrobials, and 27.3% of these showed resistance to six antibiotics. A total of 91% of the analyzed isolates had a multiple antibiotic resistance index score between 0.27 and 0.73.

Conclusion: Our outcomes demonstrated that retail meat can be a prospective vehicle for pathogenic Arcobacter, making these products a possible risk to human health. Our outcomes postulate that the contamination of retail meats by pathogenic Arcobacter is a global public health concern, particularly with the growing resistance to life-saving drugs, and emphasizes consumer understanding about the quality and safety of these products. To achieve healthy food products, good management practices, and successful control approaches must be implemented across the entire food chain, not only to protect consumers from these contaminants but also to minimize the risk of drug resistance.

Keywords: antibiotypes, Arcobacter, cattle meat, chicken meat, multidrug resistance.