Occurrence and antibiotic susceptibility of Listeria monocytogenes along meat production chain in southwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Background The widespread habit of consumption of raw meat along with poor hygiene during handling, transportation and processing are the major contributors to the high prevalence of food-borne diseases in Ethiopia. Listeriosis is one of the important food-borne diseases acquired through consumption of meat. The aim of this study was to assess the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Listeria species in meat collected from abattoir and butcher shops.Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to February 2019 on isolation, phenotypic characterization, and determination of antibiotic susceptibility profiles of isolates of L. monocytogenes. A total of 100 meat samples were collected from abattoir and butcher shops in Jimma Town. Laboratory based isolation and characterization of the Listeria species was made using conventional culture and biolog. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was conducted using ten different selected antibiotics of current veterinary and human therapy. An observational check list was used to assess meat handling practices of butcher shops and abattoir workers.Results From the total of 100 samples collected from butcher shops and the abattoir, 29 (29%; 95% CI: 21.0-38.5%) were found positive for Listeria species. Out of this, 15 (30%, 95% CI: 34.4–68.6%) samples were from the butcher shops and 14 (28%, 95% CI: 31.4–65.6%) were from the abattoir. L. innocua (48.3%) was the dominant species followed by L. seeligeri (27.6%). L. monocytogenes accounts 7% of the isolates. Antibiotic susceptibility tests revealed that L. monocytogenes isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, vancomycin, Sulfamethoxazole-Sulfamethrimethoprim, chloramphenicol and cloxacillin. In contrary, L. monocytogenes isolates were resistant to cloxacillin, penicillin, nalidixic acid and tetracycline. On the other hand, low level of education, lack of training on meat handling and poor cleanliness of meat contact surfaces were significantly associated with the occurrence of Listeria spp. (P < 0.05).Conclusion The findings highlighted the need for regular training on hygienic meat handling practices for meat handlers in order to minimize the risk of food borne diseases. Furthermore, regulation of the optimal use of antimicrobials in food producing animals is highly recommended so as to reduce antimicrobial resistance.

Isolation, phenotypic characterization and public health implications of Listeria monocytogenes circulating in smallholder dairy farms of Kombolcha town and Kutaber district, Amhara regional state, Ethiopia

“…In this study, 87%, 73%, and 60% of isolates were sensitive to procaine penicillin G, oxytetracycline, cloxacillin, and streptomycin respectively. Procaine penicillin G and tetracycline sensitivity were higher than a report by [44]. The sensitivity of L. monocytogenes to streptomycin, procaine penicillin G, tetracycline, and oxytetracycline observed in this study were similar to studies by [35; 29; 37; 16].…”

“…The reason for the milk samples chosen was Listeria is most prevalent in milk and dairy products [43] Many researchers have been reported the prevalence of Listeria species in raw milk worldwide, in Iran from the total of 240 milk samples 54(22.5%) were positive for Listeria [44]. In Algeria, researchers isolated L. monocytogenes from farm raw milk samples with a prevalence of 2.61% [45] In this study, all 15 L. monocytogenes isolates were analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility profile.…”