Risk Factors and Occurrence of Salmonella enterica in Ready-to-Eat Vegetable Salad Sold in Gombe Metropolis, Gombe State, Nigeria

Abstract

Study’s Novelty/Excerpt This study investigates the bacteriological safety of ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables in the Gombe metropolis, Nigeria, focusing on their contamination with Salmonella enterica. It identifies a significant contamination rate of 36% and establishes a strong association between poor handling practices and the presence of Salmonella, providing critical insights into the public health risks posed by these RTE vegetables. The study's findings on antibiotic sensitivity patterns of Salmonella isolates further highlight the urgent need for targeted health interventions and improved food safety practices to mitigate typhoid transmission in this region. Full Abstract The worldwide twelve-monthly typhoid fever manifestations range amid 16–20 million ailments, ensuing in roughly 600,000 human mortalities, particularly amongst low-income and middle-income nations.  Numerous typhoid outbreaks had previously been linked to contaminated vegetables.  In the Gombe metropolis of Gombe state, Nigeria, ready-to-eat (RTE) vegetables are hawked around and handled using unhygienic methods.  Hence, this study aimed to investigate and bridge the knowledge gap regarding the bacteriological safety of these ready-to-eat vegetables and the risk factors for their contamination with Salmonella enterica.  A total of 100 samples were sourced from various locations in the Gombe metropolis, homogenized and inoculated on nutrient agar, Salmonella-Shigella agar, and MacConkey agar.  Identification was executed by utilizing standard procedures of Gram’s staining and biochemical tests.  Antibiotic sensitivity assessment was executed per CLSI guidelines, a questionnaire was utilized to acquire data for ascertaining the association amongst handling and contamination of the RTE vegetable salad, and this data was analyzed using a chi-square test.  Findings revealed 36% of the samples were contaminated with Salmonella enterica, which were grey-white on nutrient agar, colorless colonies with black centers on Salmonella-Shigella agar, non-lactose fermenters on MacConkey agar, Gram-negative rod-shaped, motility and catalase positive, indole negative, urease negative, citrate negative, and KIA positive.  Sensitivity showed the isolates were 100% sensitive to ofloxacin and chloramphenicol, 100% resistant to ceftazidime, cotrimoxazole, and ceftriaxone, but 95.4% were sensitive and 4.6% resistant to ampicillin.  Data analysis revealed a significant association between contamination and some handling practices.  The findings in this study have shown that the RTE vegetable salad is a source of public health hazard to the community, and also the information generated by this study can be used to create targeted health interventions against the RTE vegetable salad-transmitted typhoid in Gombe, Nigeria.