Aregahegn Alemu, Mekonnen Addis and Hailu Degefu
Salmonella is the leading cause of foodborne diseases worldwide. A crosssectional study was conducted between the periods of March and October 2019 at municipal abattoir and butcher houses of Mizan town, Ethiopia with the objectives to determine the prevalence, antimicrobial resistance pattern, risk factors and assess public awareness of Salmonella. A total of 320 samples consisting of 240 from abattoir and 80 from butcher houses were collected and examined for the presence of Salmonella using the procedures outlined by the International Organization for Standardization. The overall prevalence of Salmonella was found to be 13.4% (43/320). Out of a total isolates, 30/240 (12.5%) were isolated from abattoir source, of which 21/175 (12%) from carcass swab, 4/25 (16%) from abattoir personnel hand swab and 5/40 (12.5%) from abattoir materials swab while 13.3/80 (16.2%) from butcher houses source, of which 5/30 (16.6%) from butcher personnel hand swab and 8/50 (16%) from butcher materials swab. However, there was no statistically significant difference (P>0.05) in the prevalence of salmonella among sample source and type. Out of the total 43 isolates, 42(97.67%) were multiple antimicrobial resistant and the highest level of resistance was observed for ertrymycin (100). Multivariable logistic regression result showed that, materials which were not cleaned and people who didn’t know contamination as risk were the major risk factors for the occurrence of Salmonella among abattoir and butcher houses in the study area.Besides, the knowledge, attitude and practices of beef meat handlers were founded to be poor. Thus, urgent intervention program is essential to minimize the risk associated with consumption of beef meat contaminated with Salmonella and prudent use of antimicrobialsis recommended.
