Authors : O.G. Gaedirelwe and T.K. Sebunya
Abstract: We determined the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella species in poultry and ostrich samples from slaughter houses in Gaborone, Botswana. We collected a total of 128 chicken and 124 ostrich tissue samples and cultured them for Salmonella. The chicken samples consisted each of 32 livers, gall bladders, small intestines and the large intestine while the ostrich samples consisted of each of 31 livers, small intestines, large intestines and cloacae. The chicken livers had the highest Salmonella prevalence of 50% followed closely by the large intestine with a prevalence of 43.8%. The small intestine and the gall bladder had Salmonella prevalence of 37.5 and 35.5%, respectively. The ostrich cloacae had the highest Salmonella prevalence of 51.6% followed by the large intestine with a prevalence of 29%. The ostrich small intestine and the liver had Salmonella prevalence of 16 and 12.9%, respectively. All of the rinse/cooling water samples from the chicken slaughterhouse were positive for Salmonella species. Isolates from poultry and those from the ostriches were serologically confirmed to be Salmonella muenchen and Salmonella arizonae, respectively. All the Salmonella muenchen and Salmonella arizonae were sensitive to Gentamycin but were all resistant to Tetracycline, Ampicillin and Sulphatriad. More studies in the area of Salmonella in poultry and antibiotic susceptibility of these organisms to antibiotics are essential for future effective control measures.
O.G. Gaedirelwe and T.K. Sebunya , 2008. The Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Salmonella sp. in Poultry and Ostrich Samples from Slaughter Houses in Gaborone, Botswana. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 7: 1151-1154.