Abstract Toxigenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) are an important cause of
gastroenteritis in developing countries. In Ethiopia, gastroenteritis due to
food-borne disease is a leading cause of death. Yet, there is no surveillance
for E. coli O157 and little is known about the carriage of this pathogen in
Ethiopia’s livestock. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and levels of
antimicrobial resistance of E. coli O157 in goat meat, feces, and
environmental samples collected at a large abattoir in the Somali region of
Ethiopia. The samples were enriched in modified tryptone broth containing
novobiocin, and plated onto sorbitol MacConkey agar. Isolates were confirmed
using indole test and latex agglutination. Antimicrobial susceptibility
testing was conducted using the disk diffusion method. A total of 235 samples,
including 93 goat carcass swabs, 93 cecal contents, 14 water, 20 hand, and 15
knife swabs were collected. Overall, six (2.5%) samples were contaminated with
E. coli O157 of which two (2.1%) were isolated from cecal contents, three
(3.2%) from carcass swabs, and one (7.1%) from water. All isolates were
resistant to at least two of the 18 antimicrobials tested. Two isolates
(33.3%) were resistant to more than five antimicrobials. Abattoir facilities
and slaughter techniques were conducive to carcass contamination. This study
highlights how poor hygiene and slaughter practice can result in contaminated
meat, which is especially risky in Ethiopia because of the common practice of
eating raw meat. We detect multi-resistance to drugs not used in goats,
suggesting that drugs used to treat human infections may be the originators of
antimicrobial resistance in livestock in this ecosystem. The isolation of
multidrug-resistant E. coli O157 from goats from a remote pastoralist system
highlights the need for global action on regulating and monitoring
antimicrobial use in both human and animal populations
