[Presence of Salmonella as a risk to public health in the Caribbean zone of Colombia].
Salmonella is frequently involved in diarrhoeal disease throughout the world and is disseminated mainly by food, polluted waters or infected food-handlers. In Colombia, the serotypes of Salmonella and their distribution in food have not been characterized. Therefore, the objective was to establish the epidemiology of Salmonella in the Caribbean zone. Six hundred thirty-six samples were obtained in fast food outlets located in city squares or markets of Barranquilla (n=245), Montería (n=222), Sincelejo (n=87) and Cartagena (n=82). Salmonella was isolated by the conventional methods recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Briefly, 25 g of each sample was inoculated in 225 ml of broth. Twenty-four hours later, a 1 ml aliquot was inoculated onto selective media for Salmonella. Suspicious colonies were identified by conventional biochemical tests and confirmed by conventional serology for Salmonella detection. Forty-seven Salmonella serotypes were isolated from meat (40%), sausage (25%), cheese (13%), pig (13%), chicken (4.2%) and egg 'arepas' (4.2%). The serologic characterization indicated the following serotypes: S. Anatum (26%), S. Newport (13%), S. Typhimurium (9%), S. Gaminara (9%) and S. Uganda (9%). No statistically significant Salmonella isolations among 4 socioeconomic categories were observed (p=0.05). However, differences were observed when rates were compared for Salmonella by food type for socioeconomic categories 1, 2 and 3 (p<0.05), categories 2 and 3 did not show differences between them (p>0.05).
Durango
Johnny
J
Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas del Trópico, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad de Córdoba, Montería, Córdoba, Colombia.
Arrieta
Germán
G
Mattar
Salim
S
D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D003105:Colombia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016021:Epidemiologic Studies; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012480:Salmonella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012703:Serotyping