Enterobacte aristae Contamination oF Sheep Livers at the Abattoirs and Retali Sales

Abstract

This study was intended to studyEnterobacteriaceaecontamination of sheep livers at the abattoirs and retail sales. Fresh raw sheep liver specimens were randomly collected at two levels,the preparation level from Alkadro slaughterhouse in Khartoum North and Alsalam slaughterhouse in Omdrman and at marketing level from Khartoum North retail meat markets. Ninety liver specimens were collected from various sources: 15 from Alkadro slaughterhouse, 20 from Alsalam slaughterhouse and 55 from Khartoum North retail meat market. Twenty Three specimens were prepared as ready to eat dishes. Bacteriological studies werecarried out on the specimens of the two levels to investigate the contamination with Enterobacteriaceae species and to estimate the hazards associated with consumption of raw sheep livers , a food habit in the Sudan .One hundred and forty bacterial isolates were identified to the species level , according to cultural characteristics and biochemical reactions: 23 (16.43%) were Citrobacter freundii, 21 (15%) Enterobacter cloacae, 20 (14.29%) Providencia alcalifaciens, 16 (11.43 %) Escherichia coli, 12 (8.57% ) Klebsiella pneumonia subsp.ozaenae, 11 (7.85% ) Escherichia fergusonii, 9 (6.42%) Proteus mirabills, 8(5.71%) Serratia marcescens, 5 (3.57%) Enterobacter aerogenes, 4 (2.86%) Klebsiella pneumonia subsp.pneumonia, 3 (2.14%) Salmonella subgenus І,1(.71%) Salmonella paratyphi A, and 1 (.71%) for Proteus vulgaris biogroup 2. The results of the sensitivity test was variable. Most of the species isolated were highly sensitive to chloramphenicol (100%) , followed by ciprofloxacin (96.23%) , ceftizoxime (94.34%) , Co-Trimoxazole (92.45%) , ofloxacin (88.68%), pefloxacin (83.02%) , cefotaxime (75.47%) and gentamicin (73.58%) , but they were highly resistant to ampicillin iv /sulbactam (92.45%),followed by tetracycline (71.70%) .The isolated Salmonella species andE. coli represented a public health hazard and Food poisoning bacteria , while Citrobacter species,Enterobacter spp.,Proteus spp. andSerratia spp. were considered as food spoiling bacteria. More species were isolated from retail meat markets than those isolated from slaughterhouses indicating poor hygiene in handling and storage. Consumption of uncooked liver dishes is a public health hazard