Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Salmonella isolates in apparently healthy slaughtered food animals at Maiduguri central abattoir, Nigeria

Objective: To determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Salmonella\udisolates in the mesenteric lymph nodes of apparently healthy slaughtered food animals at\udMaiduguri central abattoir, Nigeria.\udMethods: A total of 154 lymph nodes (cattle-54, camel-22, sheep-12, goats-66) were collected\udfrom slaughtered animals and analysed using standard microbiological and biochemical\udmethods.\udResults: An overall prevalence of 39.0% [95% confidence interval (CI): 31.3–46.7] was\udobtained. The prevalence rate across studied species ranged from 24.2% (95% CI: 13.9–34.5)\udin goats to 61.1% (95% CI: 48.1–74.1) in cattle. There was statistically significant association\udbetween Salmonella infection and species of food animals (P < 0.05). Males had a high\udprevalence of 44.7% (95% CI: 28.9–60.5) as compared with females (37.1%; 95% CI: 28.3–\ud45.9) (P > 0.05). Younger animals had slightly higher prevalence (44.0%; 95% CI: 24.5–63.5)\udcompared with adults (38.0%; 95% CI: 29.6–46.4) (P > 0.05). All isolates showed marked\udsusceptibility to ciprofloxacin, cotrimoxazole and chloramphenicol. Whereas, high resistance\udpatterns to ampicillin, kanamycin and streptomycin, and moderate resistance patterns to\udkanamycin and tetracycline were observed from camels.\udConclusions: Salmonella is high in the mesenteric lymph nodes of apparently healthy\udslaughtered food animals in Maiduguri. Therefore, it is recommended that further studies\udshould be carried out to identify the serotypes and phage typing of the isolates, and hazard\udanalysis and critical control point should be applied in handling of meat and meat products\udto avoid the risk of foodborne salmonellosis as well as appropriate use of antibiotics like\udciprofloxacin in food animals