Bacteriological Quality of Street Foods and Antimicrobial Resistance of Isolates in Hawassa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Microbial contamination of ready-to-eat foods and beverages sold by street vendors and hawkers has become an important public health issue. In Ethiopia, health risks related to such kinds of foods are thought to be common. Thus, this study has tried to determine the bacteriological quality of ready- to- eat foods sold on streets. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on street foods in Hawassa City from May to September 2014. A total of 72 samples from six food items such as local bread (‘ambasha’ and‘kita’), raw fish, chilli (‘awaze’), avocado and cooked potato were collected. Bacterial isolation, colony count and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were made following standard microbiological techniques. RESULTS: About 31% of the food samples showed total colony counts ranging from 1.7x105 to 6.7x106 colony-forming unit per gram (CFU/g) which is beyond the acceptable limits set for microbiological quality of ready- to -eat foods. The mean coliform and Enterobacteriaceae counts in raw fish, ‘kita’ and ‘ambasha’ were also higher than the limits. E.coli was the most frequent isolate (29.6%) followed by Salmonella species (12.7% and S.aureus (9.9%). All isolates were 100% sensitive to ciprofloxacin. About 89% of Salmonella sp was resistant to chloramphenicol. Alarmingly, 14.3% of S.aureus was resistant to vancomycin. CONCLUSION: This study confirmed considerable rate of contamination in street vended foods in Hawassa City. The identified foodborne bacteria and antibiotic resistance isolates could pose a public health problem in that locality. Therefore, regular inspection, health education and training of vendors on food handling and safety practices are recommended.KEYWORDS: street foods, bacteriological quality, total aerobic count, Hawass

Microbial Flora and Food Borne Pathogens on Minced Meat and Their Susceptibility to Antimicrobial Agents

BACKGROUND: Food-borne pathogens are the leading cause of illness and death in developing countries. Changes in eating habits, mass catering, unsafe food storage conditions and poor hygiene practices are major contributing factors to food associated illnesses. In Ethiopia, the widespread habit of raw beef consumption is potential cause for food borne illnesses. The present study aimed at investigating the microbial quality of meat available in common retail shops, restaurants and abattoir of Jimma City and determining susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates. METHOD: A total of 165 samples from food establishments, butcher shops and a slaughter houses were processed and analyzed for the presence of indicator bacterial and potential food pathogens using standards methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed for Salmonella, Shigella and Staphylococcus aureus isolates using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. RESULTS: A total of 165 samples were collected from twenty four hotels and five butchers and an abattoir. Various food borne pathogens were isolated in 13 (43.3%) and indicator organisms in 29 (96.7%) out of the thirty food establishments (hotels, butchery and abattoir). Overall, ten different bacterial species were isolated which included, proteus spp 89 (53.9%), E. coli 44 (26.6%), Providencia spp 23 (13.9%) Citrobacter spp 15(9%), Pseudomonas spp 9 (5.5%), Klebsiella spp 2 (1.2%), Enterobacter spp 2 (1.2%), Salmonella spp 2(1.2%), and Shigella species 1 (0.6%). Out of the 44 E. coli isolates 37 (84%) were thermo tolerant E. coli and out of the gram positive organisms identified 20 (12.1%) were Staphylococcus aureus isolates. From the two Salmonella isolates one was susceptible against all 12 tested antimicrobials, while the other to all the 11 except cephalexin. Shigella dysentery was resistant only to co-trimoxazole and tetracycline. Out of the 20 S. aureus isolates, 90% showed resistance to oxacillin, 85% to ampicillin, 65% to erythromycin, 60% to amoxicillin, 35% to streptomycin, and 20% to vancomycin and all isolates were sensitive to co-trimoxazole (100%). In this study, 90% (18/20) of the S. aureus isolates were Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus. CONCLUSION: In this study high percentage of indicator organisms as well as food borne pathogens were identified, which shows unhygienic condition of handling and processing in the food establishments. Our data also confirmed the presence of resistant food pathogens; particularly Staphylococcus aureus isolates which are Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus and multidrug resistant that emphasizes close follow up in the utilization of antibiotics. Therefore, meat handlers and sellers should be educated on the adverse effect of lack of proper personal, environmental hygiene and sanitation. In addition, consumers should be made aware of the risk of consuming raw and inadequately cooked meat

Urinary Tract Infection among Antiretroviral Therapy Users and Nonusers in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Jimma, Ethiopia

Background. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced morbidity related with bacterial infection including urinary tract infection (UTI) among patients with HIV/AIDS. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of UTI and identify common bacterial etiologies among HIV/AIDS patients of ART users and nonusers in Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Methods. A comparative cross sectional study was conducted from September to December 2012 on 367 ART users and 114 nonuser patients attending ART clinic. Sociodemographic characteristics, associated factors, and urine samples were collected; culture, biochemical tests, Gram stain, and drug sensitivity tests were done. Results. Of 467 examined urine samples, 56 (12%) had significant bacterial growth. Forty-six (12.5%) of the cases were ART users and 10 (10%) were nonusers. E. coli was the predominant isolate in both ART users (25 (54.3%)) and nonusers (6 (6%)). Majority of the bacterial isolates were from females. Most (>75%) of the isolates from both groups were resistant to ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole but sensitive to norfloxacine, ceftriaxone, and chloramphenicol. Conclusion. There was no statistically significant difference regarding the prevalence of significant bacterial growth between ART users and nonusers. Therefore, it is recommended that UTI in both groups should be managed with drugs that show sensitivity

Prevalence and drug susceptibility pattern of Salmonella isolates from apparently healthy slaughter cattle and personnel working at the Jimma municipal abattoir, south-West Ethiopia

Abstract Background Salmonella species are among the most common food borne pathogens worldwide and their infection is one of the major global public health problems. During the last decade, multidrug resistant Salmonella species have greatly increased in humans and animals. So the aim of this study was to determine prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Salmonella in apparently healthy slaughterer cattle and personnel working at the Jimma abattoir. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted from May to September 2016 at the Jimma abattoir. A total of 440 samples consisting of carcass swabs (n = 195), cattle feces (n = 195), and human stool (n = 50) were collected. Standard isolation and identification procedures were performed to identify Salmonella isolates. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were also carried out on each isolate. Results The overall proportion of Salmonella positive isolates was 9.5% in all samples, of which 11.3% were from carcass swabs, 5.6% from cattle feces, and 18% from human stool. All isolates were resistant to tasted antibiotics except Ciprofloxacin. Conclusion This study ascertains that Salmonella were widely distributed and significant proportions have developed resistance to routinely prescribed antibiotics. Therefore, there is needed to implement urgent intervention programs in study area