Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Salmonella isolates from apparently healthy slaughtered goats at Dire Dawa municipal abattoir, Eastern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from January to April 2014 on 249 apparently healthy slaughtered goats at the municipal abattoir of Dire Dawa to estimate the prevalence Salmonella spp. and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of the isolates. A total of 249 goat carcass swab samples were collected using a systematic random sampling technique and examined for the presence of Salmonella spp. Out of the total of 249 carcass swab samples, 44 (17.7%) were positive for Salmonella. Of all the isolates, 41 (93.2%) were multiply antimicrobial resistant and the highest level of resistance was observed for tetracycline (100%), nitrofurans (100%), streptomycin (81.8%) and kanamycin (79.5%). However, all isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin. The present study shows high prevalence of Salmonella spp. contamination of goat meat and resistance of the pathogen to most antimicrobials except ciprofloxacin. Authors recommended the use of standardized procedures and applications in handling of goat meat in the abattoir and rational use of antimicrobials particularly ciprofloxacin. Furthermore studies should be conducted to identify the potential source of contamination and identification of genes responsible for antimicrobial resistance.   Key words: Abattoir, antimicrobial sensitivity, goat meat, prevalence, Salmonella.