Prevalence of salmonella and escherichia coli bacteria in broiler meat sold in Kalerwe market in Kampala district in Uganda

Abstract

The prevalence of Salmonella and E. coli bacteria in broiler meat, has become a pressing issue in recent years due to the potential health risks causing public health problems, like gastrointestinal infections which manifest with the symptoms like diarrhea, abdominal cramps, The purpose of this research was to determine how common salmonella, E.coli, and the total coliform count are in the broiler meat that is being sold at kalerwe market. Using random sampling tool, 50 chicken broiler carcasses were collected from three different chicken abattoirs at Kalerwe market A, B and C, sterile sampling tools were used for example forceps, scissors, labeling materials like markers, cooling equipment like ice packs and insulated container were also used, the gloves, lab coat were also used as the protective equipment and after the experiment the colony counter was used to count the number of coliform colonies and E.coli colonies on the plates in the laboratory. This study identified that Kalerwe market is highly contaminated with E.coli in the fresh broiler meat than salmonella; overall mean E. coli count was 1616.67±7.4a cfu/g while the mean E. coli count from the three different chicken abattoirs A, B, C was 786.67 ± 8.58, 310.00 ± 9.40 and 1560.0 ± 4.22 cfu/g respectively. Out of the 50 samples, no salmonella was found, and the highest count of E. coli was 1560.0 cfu/g, with a detection rate of 37.8%. This study suggests that there is a higher prevalence of E. coli than salmonella in the broiler meat at Kalerwe market. Therefore the authority in charge of the abattoir should install necessary standard equipment’s and major functional facilities in the chicken abattoir. Proper hygiene should be maintained within the slaughter houses and surroundings.