PREVALENCE OF Salmonella AND Shigella Sp. IN READY-TO-EAT GAME MEAT SOLD IN DIFFERENT CITIES IN SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA

Abstract

Different meat products have been implicated in outbreaks of Salmonella and Shigella sp. worldwide. Game meat refers to any animal gotten from wildlife. A variety of game meat such as Grasscutters and Antelopes are predominantly consumed. However, hunting and consumption of game meat increases the risk of zoonotic infections. Also the process of hunting and processing wild animals is usually done under unsanitary situations in which they come into touch with humans and domesticated animals considerably increasing the chances of disease transmission and infection. This research was carried out to investigate the presence of Salmonella and Shigella species in different game meat sold in various cities within southwestern Nigeria. Isolation and identification of these two pathogens was performed using culture techniques and molecular techniques respectively, the isolates were then subjected to biochemical testing. The Salmonella isolates were confirmed by the presence of Salmonella enterica subsp. I (SSI) gene and the Shigella isolates were confirmed by the presence of 16s rRNA gene using simplex PCR. A total of 55 samples were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella and Shigella sp., 41.8% of the game meat samples investigated were positive for Salmonella enterica subspecies I and 45.5% were positive for Shigella sp. This high prevalence is of public health concern due to the low infective dose of these pathogens.