Salmonella spp. and risk factors for the contamination of slaughtered cattle carcass from a slaughterhouse of Bahir Dar Town, Ethiopia

Objective: To assess the prevalence of Salmonella species and associated factors from cattle\udcarcasses in abattoir of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.\udMethods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among slaughtered cattle carcass samples\udfrom Bahir Dar abattoir from December 2012 to February 2013. A total of 300 carcasses from hind\udlimb, abdomen and neck of one hundred cattle were collected and analyzed for the prevalence\udof Salmonella. An observation checklist was used to collect data on the risk factors for\udcontamination of carcass.\udResults: Out of the total 300 carcass samples, 23 (7.6%) were positive for Salmonella species.\udEleven (47.8%), nine (39.1%) and three (13.1%) of the isolates were Salmonella group A, Salmonella\udarizonae and Salmonella typhi, respectively. Wearing garment during slaughtering, handwashing after separating intestinal content, washing of the knife before slaughtering, slaughtering\udon sanitized floor and carcass-washing during slaughter were important risk factors that have\udstatistically significant association with the isolation rate of Salmonella in slaughtered cattle\udcarcasses (P<0.05). The mean aerobic mesophilic count of cattle carcass surfaces was 5.39 log CFU/\udcm2.\udConclusions: Unlike other studies, Salmonella group A appears to be the most prevalent species\udin cattle carcasses in the present study. Among carcass sites, the highest contamination was\udrecorded in the abdomen and the main source of contamination is human and intestinal contents.\udTherefore, there is a need to maintain proper hygienic practices in Bahir Dar abattoir during\udslaughtering