Abstract

Objective: To assess the prevalence of Salmonella species and associated factors from cattle carcasses in abattoir of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among slaughtered cattle carcass samples from Bahir Dar abattoir from December 2012 to February 2013. A total of 300 carcasses from hind limb, abdomen and neck of one hundred cattle were collected and analyzed for the prevalence of Salmonella. An observation checklist was used to collect data on the risk factors for contamination of carcass. Results: Out of the total 300 carcass samples, 23 (7.6%) were positive for Salmonella species. Eleven (47.8%), nine (39.1%) and three (13.1%) of the isolates were Salmonella group A, Salmonella arizonae and Salmonella typhi, respectively. Wearing garment during slaughtering, handwashing after separating intestinal content, washing of the knife before slaughtering, slaughtering on sanitized floor and carcass-washing during slaughter were important risk factors that have statistically significant association with the isolation rate of Salmonella in slaughtered cattle carcasses (P<0.05). The mean aerobic mesophilic count of cattle carcass surfaces was 5.39 log CFU/ cm 2 . Conclusions: Unlike other studies, Salmonella group A appears to be the most prevalent species in cattle carcasses in the present study. Among carcass sites, the highest contamination was recorded in the abdomen and the main source of contamination is human and intestinal contents. Therefore, there is a need to maintain proper hygienic practices in Bahir Dar abattoir during slaughtering.

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