A systematic review and meta-analysis of prevalence of Escherichia coli in foods of animal origin in Ethiopia

Ayalew Assefa,Amare Bihon

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00716

Abstract

Escherichia coli is one of the causes of gastrointestinal diseases worldwide causing millions of illness annually. The occurrence of Escherichia coli in foods of animal origin in Ethiopia is arguably high due to many reasons like illegal slaughtering of animals in open fields, unhygienic slaughter practices in the abattoirs, and the risk of disease due to this organism is high because of a widespread tradition of raw meat consumption. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to pool estimates of the prevalence of the organism in different foods of animal origin which is the first of its kind in the country. The literature search was conducted to identify all published articles reporting the prevalence of Escherichia coli in foods of animal origin. From all screened articles, 30 studies were eligible for final systematic review and meta-analysis. Because substantial heterogeneity was expected, random-effects meta-analyses were carried out to pool the prevalence of the organism from different foods of animal origin. The result indicated that between-study variability was high (τ2 = 0.00; heterogeneity I2 = 96.77% with Heterogeneity chi-square = 1298.92, a degree of freedom = 42 and a P-value of = 0.001) with the overall random pooled prevalence of 15% (95% CI = 13%–17%) in foods of animal origin. The result of meta-regression showed diagnosis method used, sample size and study year had contributed significantly to the heterogeneity of studies. This systematic review and meta-analysis showed the level of contamination of foods of animal origin in Ethiopia is high indicating the need for immediate planning of mitigation strategies and detection methods to reduce its level and impact throughout the country.

Highlights

Foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella species, Staphylococcus aureus, and many more other organisms are the leading causes of foodborne illness and death in the world (Ajayi et al, 2011)
Escherichia coli is characterized as a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae with five virulence groups, including; enteroaggregative Escherichia coli (EAEC), enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC), enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC), enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC), and enterotoxigenic (ETEC)
It has been increasingly recognized that fresh vegetables and fruits other than beef or beef-product can be the sources of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection (Cheol et al, 2013; Gomes et al, 2016; Karmali et al, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella species, Staphylococcus aureus, and many more other organisms are the leading causes of foodborne illness and death in the world (Ajayi et al, 2011). Escherichia coli O157: H7, one of the virulent strain under the species Escherichia coli is a leading cause of hemorrhagic colitis, hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) in man (Cobbaut et al, 2009; Earley and Leonard, 2006). This strain is considered as one of the severe foodborne disease-causing organism globally. It has been increasingly recognized that fresh vegetables and fruits other than beef or beef-product can be the sources of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infection (Cheol et al, 2013; Gomes et al, 2016; Karmali et al, 2010)

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Conclusion