Isolation, Identification And Antibiogram Of Salmonella Enterica From Chicken Eggs Collected From Selected Wards In Morogoro Municipality, Tanzania

ABSTRACT

Eggs provide protein to human. However, consumption of contaminated eggs with pathogenic Salmonellae (Salmonella enterica) imposes negative impacts to human health causing salmonellosis. The present study aimed at isolation, identification and antibiogram testing of Salmonella enterica from chicken eggs in Morogoro Municipality. A total of 570 raw, boiled, cracked, clean, and faecal soaked chicken eggs (120 local and 450 exotic) were collected from selected areas and examined from November to May 2016. Analysis was done by pooling samples using bacteriological standard methods where eleven (11) pathogenic Salmonellae (Salmonella. enterica) were confirmed to genus level by PCR using Spec primers pair for Salmonella invA gene amplified 284 bp of DNA fragment. Out of eleven (11) recovered Salmonellae 6 (20.0%) from egg contents and 5 (16.7%) from eggshell surfaces. The overall prevalence of isolated Salmonella enterica in eggs was 36.7% (95% CI: 0.199 – 0.561). It was worth noting that, local eggs were highly contaminated (20.0%) than exotic eggs (16.7%) whereas raw eggs were highly contaminated (26.7%) than boiled eggs (10%). Interestingly clean eggs were highly contaminated (20.0%) than faecal socked (13.3%). Statistical analysis between raw and boiled eggs showed significant differences. Moreover, eggs from Mlimani ward were highly contaminated 4 (13.33%) compared with eggs from other wards. Antibiogram test results showed sensitivity to: Ciprofloxacin, Chloramphenicol, Gentamicin, Tetracycline, Sulfamethaxole-Trimethoprim, Imepenem, Cefotaxime, Ceftriaxone and Caftazidime, and resistant only to Kanamycin. This study reports for the first time presence of pathogenic Salmonellae (Salmonella enterica) in chicken eggs and their antibiogram patterns, indicating that eggs are unwholesome for human consumption and population in Municipality is at risk for salmonellosis. Therefore, it is recommended that control measures from eggs production to table chain should be implemented by health sectors to prevent human/animal salmonellosis.