{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T07:18:22Z","timestamp":1788419902638,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788393600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Microbiol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Antimicrobial use in livestock contributes to the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and the persistence of antimicrobial residues in foods of animal origin. The coexistence of antimicrobial residues and resistant bacteria in beef poses a major food safety and public health concern. However, data on these hazards in Uganda remain limited. This study assessed antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance among bacteria isolated from beef marketed in southwestern Uganda.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A cross-sectional laboratory-based study was conducted from May to August 2025 using beef samples from 92 randomly selected cattle carcasses at Ruti Rufura Slaughterhouse, Mbarara City, Uganda. Antibiotic residues were screened by agar well diffusion and confirmed for penicillin and oxytetracycline using thin-layer chromatography. Bacterial isolates were identified using standard microbiological methods, and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the Kirby\u2013Bauer disk diffusion method according to CLSI guidelines.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Antibiotic residues were detected in 86\/92 (93.5%) samples. Thin-layer chromatography confirmed penicillin residues in 84 (97.7%) and oxytetracycline residues in 71 (82.6%) samples, with 73.1% containing both antibiotics. A total of 125 bacterial isolates representing seven genera were recovered, predominantly\n                      <jats:italic>Proteus<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp. (30.4%),\n                      <jats:italic>Citrobacter<\/jats:italic>\n                      spp. (26.4%), and\n                      <jats:italic>Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n                      (16.8%). Among 75 viable isolates, resistance was highest to ampicillin (97.3%), chloramphenicol (86.7%), tetracycline (82.7%), ceftriaxone (57.3%), and ciprofloxacin (54.7%), while gentamicin showed the highest susceptibility (86.7%). Oxytetracycline residues were significantly associated with tetracycline resistance and penicillin residues with ampicillin resistance (both\n                      <jats:italic>P &amp;lt; 0.001<\/jats:italic>\n                      ).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Beef marketed in southwestern Uganda frequently contains antimicrobial residues and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, posing a potential food safety risk. Strengthened antimicrobial stewardship, enforcement of withdrawal periods, and integrated surveillance of antimicrobial residues and resistance in foods of animal origin are needed to support One Health efforts against antimicrobial resistance.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2026.1952715","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]],"date-time":"2026-09-03T07:10:45Z","timestamp":1788419445000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistance patterns of bacteria isolated from beef at Ruti Rufura Slaughterhouse, southwestern Uganda"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Barbra","family":"Tuhamize","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Mbarara University of Science and Technology","place":["Mbarara City, Uganda"]},{"name":"SAMRC-UNIVEN Antimicrobial Resistance and Global Health Research Unit, Institute for Pathogen and Global Health Research, University of Venda","place":["Thohoyandou, South Africa"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kica","family":"Daniel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Mbarara University of Science and Technology","place":["Mbarara City, Uganda"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101219","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foohum.2026.101219","article-title":"Meat safety knowledge, practices, and bacterial contamination in abattoirs and retail meat shops in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.","volume":"6","author":"Ababu","year":"2026","journal-title":"Food Human."},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"110545","DOI":"10.1016\/j.foodcont.2024.110545","article-title":"Comprehensive insights into antibiotic residues in livestock products: Distribution, factors, challenges, opportunities, and implications for food safety and public health.","volume":"163","author":"Adegbeye","year":"2024","journal-title":"Food Control"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1186\/s13756-017-0294-9","article-title":"World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on use of medically important antimicrobials in food-producing animals.","volume":"7","author":"Aidara-Kane","year":"2018","journal-title":"Antimicrob. 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