Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Salmonella and Shigella among food handlers in catering establishments at Debre Markos University, Northwest Ethiopia.
Food-borne diseases are a major health problem in developing countries including Ethiopia. This study determined the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of Shigella and Salmonella among food handlers working in student and staff food service establishments at Debre Markos University.
A laboratory-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 220 food handlers from January 2015 to June 2016. Stool and fingernail samples from the subjects were cultured on bacteriological culture medium, and Shigella and Salmonella were isolated and identified following standard procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for all isolates using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method.
The overall prevalence of Shigella and Salmonella in this study was 5.9%, with 3.6% of stool specimens testing positive for Salmonella species and 2.3% testing positive for Shigella species. None of the food handlers had positive cultures for Shigella or Salmonella in respect of their fingernail specimens. The isolation of either Shigella or Salmonella had a significant inverse relationship with the number of service years (p=0.017). All isolates of Shigella and Salmonella were 100% susceptible to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and gentamicin. However, all isolated pathogens were resistant to ampicillin (100%).
The findings of this study highlight the importance of food handlers in the transmission of pathogens to the customers (students and the general population). Screening of food handlers, training for food handling and hand hygiene practices, and regular monitoring of the food handling practices should be done in order to avoid diseases that can be acquired through improper food handling, like bacterial infections.
Mengist A
，Mengistu G
，Reta A
《-》
Prevalence of Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and intestinal parasites among food handlers working in University of Gondar student's cafeteria, Northwest Ethiopia.
Food-borne infections continue to be a major public health problem at the international level. The issue becomes more serious in developing countries like Ethiopia.
This study aimed to examine the prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species and intestinal parasites, as well as antimicrobial resistance patterns and associated factors among food handlers at the University of Gondar cafeteria in northwest Ethiopia.
An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to June 2021 in the University of Gondar cafeterias. Data related to the socio-demographic characteristics and hygienic practices of study participants were collected using structured questionnaires. A total of 290 stool samples were collected from food handlers. Culture and conventional biochemical tests were used to isolate the Salmonella and the Shigella species. Wet mount, Formol-ether concentration, and Kato Katz techniques were applied to identify intestinal parasites. Additionally, drug susceptibility tests were performed using the disk diffusion method. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 26.
Of 290 food handlers' stool samples analyzed, Twenty-seven 27 (9.3%) were positive for both Salmonella and Shigella species. The prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species was 16 (5.5%) and 11 (3.8%), respectively. Most of the isolated pathogens were resistant to tetracycline 19 (70.4%), and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole 19 (70.4%). The overall rate of multi-drug resistant Shigella and Salmonella isolate was 59.3%. Besides, Fifty-seven 57 (19.7%) of the participants were positive for one or more intestinal parasites. The most prevalent intestinal Parasitosis was E. histolytica/dispar 22 (7.6%), followed by G. lamblia 13 (4.5%), and Ascaris lumbricoides 11 (3.8) not washing hands after using the toilet (AOR: 4.42, 95% CI: 1.57, 10.56), and consuming unpasteurized milk (AOR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.65, 3.96), were factors significantly associated with the prevalence of Salmonella, and Shigella infection. Similarly, not washing hands after using the toilet (AOR: 2.19, 95% CI: 1.0, 1.4), and consuming unpasteurized milk (AOR: 10.4, 95% CI: 3.8, 28.8), were factors significantly associated with the prevalence of intestinal parasites infection.
The prevalence of intestinal parasites, Salmonella, and Shigella species was high. Therefore, it is imperative to implement a public health policy that includes ongoing microbiological surveillance.
Amare A
，Eshetie S
，Kasew D
，Amare A
，Abebe W
，Moges F
... -
《Frontiers in Public Health》
ResearchGate
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