Abstract:
Background: Salmonellosis is an infectious disease of humans and animals caused by species of Salmonella. Salmonella
are widespread in the environment and commonly found in farm effluents and sewage. Epidemiological information on
the prevalence of salmmonelosis is a prerequisite to develop appropriate control strategies. Objective: To assess the
prevalence and antibiotic resistance patterns of Salmonella isolates. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted.
A total of 152 cows and 14 humans were included in the study. Milk, fecal sample and human stool were collected.
Samples were pre-enriched with buffered peptone water and transferred to selenite cysteine broth and rappaport-vassilidis
broth. Isolation was made by plating on to xylose lysine deoxycholate agar and brilliant green agar. Biochemical, antibiotic
susceptibility testing and serotyping were done. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20 software. Binary
logistic regression was applied and p-values of less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Of the
total 21 Salmonella isolates identified, 19(90.5%) and 2(9.5%) isolates were from lactating cows and in-contact individuals,
respectively. Salmonella bredeney was the most common (85.7%). Drinking water source had statistically significant
(P=0.027) association. All isolates were resistant at least to one of the antibiotics tested with 100% to ampicillin. All
isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin and amoxacilin/clavulanic acid. Conclusion: Large percentage of Salmonella
isolates were resistant at least to one of the antibiotics tested. Salmonellosis treatment could be difficult in the future
unless wise use of antibiotics is practiced
