Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Salmonella and Shigella species among asymptomatic food handlers working in Haramaya University cafeterias, Eastern Ethiopia.
OBJECTIVE
Salmonellosis and Shigellosis remain a major public health problem across the globe, particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia, where hand hygiene and food microbiology are still below the required standards. The growing problem of antimicrobial resistance species also continues to pose public health challenges. This study assessed the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of Salmonella and Shigella species among asymptomatic food handlers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 417 randomly selected asymptomatic food handlers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The stool specimens collected were examined for Salmonella and Shigella species using standard bacteriological methods. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the basic features of the data.


RESULTS
The overall prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species was 5.04%. Salmonella and Shigella species were 76.2% resistant to both co-trimoxazole and tetracycline, 71.4% to amoxicillin and 66.7% to chloramphenicol. Moreover, 85.7% of Salmonella and Shigella species were multidrug resistant. The findings highlighted the food handlers as potential sources of food borne infections, which demands the establishment of appropriate hygiene and sanitary control measures at the University cafeterias.
['Marami|Dadi|D|http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4793-3575', 'Hailu|Konjit|K|', 'Tolera|Moti|M|']
D000328:Adult D000890:Anti-Infective Agents D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary D005002:Ethiopia D005243:Feces D005260:Female D005511:Food Handling D005522:Food Services D006801:Humans D006920:Hygiene D008297:Male D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests D015995:Prevalence D012475:Salmonella D012480:Salmonella Infections D012760:Shigella D014495:Universities
Shigella species Food handler University cafeteria Antimicrobial resistance Salmonella species