Abstract
BackgroundSalmonella has been recognized as a major cause of food borne illness associated with meat products worldwide. The wide spread of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella has been a serious global human and animal health problem. The aims of this study were to estimate the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Salmonella isolates from butcher shops of Gondar town, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June, 2013 in Gondar town. After receiving written consent from the study participants, raw meat and swab samples from butcher shops’ utensils and meat handlers were collected and tested using standard bacteriological methods. The isolates were identified using colony characteristics, Gram-reaction, biochemical reaction and sugar tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Check list was used to record general hygienic conditions and practices in the butcher shops. The data was entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.ResultsButcher shop premises and utensils sanitation and personnel’s hygiene were poor. The overall prevalence of Salmonella was 17.3 %. Salmonella was detected in 32 (35.6 %) meat samples, 13 (23.2 %) hand swabs, 5 (9.1 %) knife swabs, and 3 (5.6 %) chopping board surface swabs. Of the total 53 Salmonella isolates subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test, 47 (88.7 %), 35 (62.3 %), 19 (35.8 %), 17 (32.1 %) and 16 (30.2 %) of them exhibited resistance to Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Nitrofuranthoin, Tetracycline, and Sulfamethoxazole-Trimethoprime, respectively. Furthermore; 15 (28.3 %) of the isolates were multidrug-resistant from which highest isolation was recorded from meat samples and 40 (75.5 %) isolates of Salmonella showed resistance to two or more antimicrobial agents tested. Interestingly, all of the isolates were susceptible to Gentamycin and Ceftriaxone.ConclusionThe general sanitary condition of the butcher shops and utensils used and personnel hygiene were not to the recommended standards. Contamination of meat, knives, and meat handlers hand with Salmonella was found high. Furthermore; multidrug-resistant Salmonella is circulating in the butchers’ shop which is strong enough to warrant the revision of butcher shops sanitation policy and treatment regimen for infections implicated by Salmonella in the study area. Further in-depth study including serotyping and antimicrobial resistant gene identification is recommended.
Highlights
Salmonella has been recognized as a major cause of food borne illness associated with meat products worldwide
Hygienic status of the butcher shops and meat handlers Out of the 90 butcher shops assessed in this research, the floor of 60 (66.7 %) were constructed from earthen materials, 23 (25.6 %) were constructed from concrete and the remaining were made of tile and wooden materials
Antimicrobial susceptibility test results of the current study indicated that the highest number (60 %) of multidrug resistant isolates was identified from meat samples followed by hand samples (26.7 %)
Summary
Salmonella has been recognized as a major cause of food borne illness associated with meat products worldwide. The wide spread of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella has been a serious global human and animal health problem. Food borne diseases are public health problems both in developed and developing countries. Biological contaminants largely bacteria, constitute the major cause of food borne diseases [2]. Salmonella is one of the leading causes of human gastroenteritis. There exist many factors that contribute to this development. Among these are the adaptive ability of the pathogen itself, the changing characteristics of the population, the increasing globalization of the food trade, and changes in industrial structure and in consumer behavior [3]
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