Foodborne infections due to the consumption of meat is a significant threat to public health. However, good vendor and consumer knowledge of meat safety could prevent meat contamination with and transmission of foodborne pathogens like Salmonella. Thus, this study investigated the vendor and consumer perception, knowledge, and practices of meat safety regarding ready-to-eat (RTE) meat and how this affected the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella enterica in RTE meats in the streets of Ghana. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain the demographics, knowledge, and practices of meat safety data from RTE meat vendors (n = 300) and consumers (n = 382). Salmonella enterica detection was done according to the United State of America (USA)-Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Bacteriological Analytical Manual. The disk diffusion method was used for antibiotic resistance testing. The results revealed that most of the respondents had heard of meat safety (98.3% vendors, 91.8% consumers) and knew that meat could be contaminated by poor handling (100.0% vendors, 88.9% consumers). The respondents knew that regular hand washing reduced the risk of meat contamination (100.0% vendors, 94.0% consumers). Responses to the practices of meat safety by vendors were generally better. A very low Salmonella enterica prevalence was observed in the samples, ranging between 0.0 and 4.0% for guinea fowl and beef, respectively. However, the six isolates obtained were resistant to five of the nine antibiotics tested, with all isolates displaying different resistance profiles. Overall, the good knowledge and practice of meat safety demonstrated by the respondents corroborated the negligible prevalence of Salmonella in this study, reiterating the importance of vendor meat safety knowledge. However, the presence of resistant Salmonella enterica in some of the meat samples, albeit in a very low prevalence, warrants stricter sanitary measures and greater meat safety awareness in the general population to prevent meat-borne infections and potential transmission of drug-resistant bacteria to humans.
This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of resistant Salmonella spp. isolated from meat (beef) and liver of cattle in the Wa, Municipality of Ghana. Isolation of Salmonella spp. was done according to the USA-FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using the disc diffusion method and the results interpreted using the CLSI guidelines. Antibiotic residues determination was carried out using Premi®Test Kit. Liver samples 32%(16/50) were more contaminated with Salmonella spp. as compared to beef samples 30% (15/50). The Salmonella spp. were highly resistant to teicoplanin (96.77%) but susceptible to chloramphenicol (100%), ciprofloxacin (100%), tetracycline (100%), suphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (100%), amoxycillin/clavulanic acid (93.55%), ceftriaxone (93.55%) and gentamicin (83.87%). The Salmonella spp. exhibited 5 antibiotic resistant patterns with the pattern (Tec) being the commonest. Multiple antibiotic index ranged from 0.11 to 0.33. A total of 35 samples (20 beef and 15 liver samples) were examined for antibiotic residues, and 7 (20%) were positive for antibiotic residues; 6 (17%) were found in the liver while 1 (3%) was in the beef. This study revealed that salmonellae are present in beef and liver samples examined and showed high resistance to teicoplanin. Some of the beef and kidney samples harbored antibiotic residues.
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major foodborne pathogens in readyto-eat foods exposed to the environment. This study investigated the microbial load, incidence and antibiotic susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat meats in Bolgatanga Municipality, Ghana. A total of 200 swabs of ready-to-eat meats (50 each of grilled chevon, mutton, pork and guinea fowl) were examined. Analyses for microbial load and Staphylococcus aureus were done using a modified method of the USA-FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed using the disc diffusion method. The microbial load of the ready-to-eat meats ranged from 4.02 to 4.85 log cfu/cm 2 and averagely 34.0% were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. The highest incidence was seen in grilled guinea fowl (46%) and the lowest was found in grilled chevon and pork (24% each). Of the 16 Staphylococcus aureus examined against 9 different antibiotics, 44.44% 5.56% and 50.00% exhibited susceptibility, intermediate resistance and resistance, ABOUT THE AUTHOR Frederick Adzitey is an Associate Professor in Meat Science and Technology. He holds a PhD in Food Safety and MSc in Meat Science and Technology. He works on the isolation, antibiotic resistance and characterization of foodborne pathogens. Rejoice Ekli is an MPhil student in Animal Science (Meat Science and Technology Option). She is working on antibiotic residues and prevalence of resistant Salmonella species in beef obtained from the Wa Abattoir, Ghana. Martin Aduah is an MPhil student in Animal Science (Meat Science and Technology Option). He is working on prevalence, antibiotic resistance and molecular characterization of Salmonella species in grilled meats obtained from Bolgatanga, Ghana.
PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENTThis research was performed to investigate the occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Staphylococcus aureus in ready-to-eat meats. In Ghana, Ready-to-eat meats (grilled meats) are mostly consumed directly after purchased without cooking or pre-heating. While effective grilling destroys all bacteria, post grilling handling and exposing to the environment make it possible for ready-to-eat meats to be cross-contaminated by various foodborne pathogens including Staphylococcus aureus making it a significant public health hazard. The study revealed that consumers are exposed to Staphylococcus aureus infection from the consumption of ready-to-eat meats in the Bolgatanga Municipality of Ghana. Of major concern is the multidrug resistance that occurred among most of the Staphylococcus aureus isolates as this will make infections and illnesses caused by Staphylococcus aureus to be difficult to treat. This study creates awareness about the existence of bacteria and Staphylococcus aureus (and their resistance to antibiotics) in ready-to-eat meats, and the need to take the necessary precaution prior to consumption.
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