Browsing by Author "Murutu, Rehema"

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Detection of microbial surface contamination and antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli on beef carcasses in Arusha, Tanzania
(African Journal of Microbiology Research, 2016-08-14) Murutu, Rehema; Luanda, Catherine; Rugumisa, Bernadetha; Mwanyika, Gaspar; Subbiah, Murugan; Call, Douglas; Buza, Joram
Food serves as an important fomite for transmission of disease-causing and antibiotic resistant bacteria to humans. Because this may be an especially challenging problem in low-income countries, the level of microbial surface contamination and abundance of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli on beef carcasses were estimated. Out of 125 surface swab samples (plated on MacConkey agar), 70 to 100% were positive to Gram-negative bacteria and E. coli, respectively. More than 50% of individual carcasses had bacterial loads below the maximum threshold recommended by the FAO. For carcasses in small- and medium-scale facilities, the average load of bacteria ranged between 0.8 and 1.5 log cfu/cm2, while carcasses in the large slaughter facility had an average loads of between 1.77 and 1.42 log cfu/cm2. Of the 1,272 E. coli isolates tested, 49.4% were resistant to at least one antibiotic. Isolates were frequently resistant to tetracycline (21.7%) and ampicillin (19.2%) while the frequency of resistance to the remaining nine antibiotics was <3%. In addition, 5.3% of isolates were multidrug resistant with 18 different phenotypes. The combination of resistance to ampicillin and tetracycline was the most common. Although, poor sanitation practices were observed, results reflect lower bacterial counts and limited prevalence of antibiotic resistant E. coli relative to other reports in the literature.
Recovery and prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella from fresh goat meat in Arusha, Tanzania
(African Journal of Microbiology Research, 2016-08-28) Mwanyika, Gaspary; Buza, Joram; Rugumisa, Benardether; Luanda, Catherine; Murutu, Rehema; Lyimo, Beatus; Subbiah, Murugan; Call, Douglas
Meat products are clearly associated with foodborne pathogens including, antibiotic-resistant strains. Population growth and growing consumer demand facilitate the transmission of foodborne pathogens, particularly in developing countries. To determine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella in goat meat, a study was done in Tanzania (June to July, 2015). Overall 120 goat meat samples were collected from five large and five small slaughter facilities (n = 60, respectively). Pre-enrichment for Salmonella isolation was done in Tryptic Soy Broth followed by selective enrichment in Modified Semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis agar. Isolation of Salmonella was done in xylose-Lysine-Deoxycholate agar followed by biochemical confirmation in triple sugar iron agar. The average prevalence of Salmonella was 60 and 63% in large and small facilities, respectively. Breakpoint assays indicated an overall low prevalence of resistance (2 to 4%; n = 219 isolates) to ampicillin, amoxicillin, streptomycin, sulphamethoxazole and trimethoprim with complete susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime and cefotaxime. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in the prevalence of resistance between large and small facilities was observed. High probability of Salmonella contamination of goat meat from Arusha area of Tanzania can pose risks to consumers. Antibiotic resistance appears minimal in this population. Improved hygienic slaughter and meat-handling practices are encouraged to reduce the burden of Salmonella-positive meat products.