Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Salmonella Species

Aim: This research was carried out to determine the prevalence of Salmonella species from smoked fish sold in the three major markets in Tamale Metropolis and examined the isolates resistance patterns to various antibiotics.

Study Design: The study was in two parts which include administering questionnaires and collecting samples. The second part was the laboratory analysis to detect Salmonella species from the collected samples.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in the Spanish laboratory (microbiology section) of the Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biosciences, of the University for Development Studies.

Methodology: A total of one hundred samples were examined. The samples were enriched on buffered peptone water and inoculated on Modified Semi-Solid Rappaport Vassiliadis. Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate was used to identify the bacteria, and Simons Citrate agar was used for the biochemical test. The antibiotic test was done by using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test.

Results: After the laboratory analysis, 67 (67%) out of the 100 samples were confirmed to be positive for Salmonella species of which Cut fish (11.9%), Redfish (11.9%), Mudfish (11.9%), and Chale fish (11.9%) recorded the highest contamination, and among the three markets, Central market had the highest fish contamination. The resistance patterns of the isolates to the various antibiotics used were; Ciprofloxacin (2.98%), Ceftriaxone (34.32%), Ampicillin (83.58%), Doxycycline (88.05%), Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid (91.04%), and Oxytetracycline (92.53%).

Conclusion: This study revealed that smoked fish sold in the Tamale Metropolis contained Salmonella positive that can cause food poisoning and other gastrointestinal problems.