Prevalence of Salmonella Enteritidis in Hatcheries and Broiler Retail Outlets in Rawalpindi

Salmonellosis is food borne zoonotic bacterial disease which remains an important public health problem worldwide, particularly in the developing countries. Almost all types of food items are contaminated by salmonellosis. Poultry eggs and meat are nutritious food items as they consist of protein, phosphorous and important vitamins and minerals. The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis in hatcheries and broiler retail outlets in Rawalpindi. A total of 1257 samples were collected including egg shell (n=345), egg contents (n=174), egg storing trays (n=354) and broiler meat samples (n=384). A sterile cotton swab was used for swabbing of samples from egg shell surface and egg storing trays while 25 gram meat samples were collected randomly from hatcheries and broiler retail outlets of Rawalpindi. Tetrathionate broth and Hektoen enteric agar were used for culturing of Salmonella. Salmonella enteritidis was confirmed by multiplex PCR using specific primers. Overall, prevalence of Salmonella enteritidis was 37.10 % in eggshells (n=128), 21.83% in egg contents (n=38) and 34.74 % in egg storing trays (n=123). Ninety seven (25.26%) broiler meat samples were positive for Salmonella enteritidis. The findings of high prevalence of Salmonella pathogens among egg and meat demand effective means of preventing the transmission of Salmonella via food to consumers.

Key words: food borne, zoonotic, eggs, hatcheries, egg storing trays