Isolation and antibiotic sensitivity patterns of Salmonella species from raw beef and quail eggs from farms and retail outlets in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Salmonella species from raw beef obtained from markets and Japanese quail eggs from farms and retail outlets in Jos and environs, Nigeria, using colony morphology and biochemical tests. Of the 100 raw beef samples examined, 11 were contaminated with Salmonella given a prevalence of 11.0%. Salmonella was isolated from 3 out of the 225 quail eggs analyzed. The result revealed that only 0.8% of the quail egg contents were positive for Salmonella while the prevalence on egg shell was 1.7%. The prevalence of Salmonella on raw beef was found to be relatively higher in Tudun Wada and Rukuba Road 4(20.0%), while Terminus, Abattoir and Gada Biyu had a lower prevalence of 1 (5.0%). The relative prevalence of Salmonella on the egg shell and content base on location indicates considerable high (4.0%) levels of contamination in samples from Jos South Local Government Area while eggs collected from Jos North and Jos East revealed a prevalence of 0.0%. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern of the isolates showed varying degree of sensitivity. The isolates were moderately sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Sulphademethoxazole, Chloramphenicol and Gentamycin recording the highest sensitivity. The isolates were completely resistant to Tetracyline, Neomycin, Oxacillin and Erythromycin. Multi-drug resistance was reported in isolates from quail eggs from Farm A. All the isolates from the three farms were resistant to Oxacillin and Erythromycin while two (from Farms A and C) were resistant to Sulphadimethoxazole. Regulatory control of antibiotics usage in livestock production, meat/poultry hygiene and pharmaco-epidemiological surveillance in food animals to ensure consumer safety were therefore recommended.