A meta-analysis of the prevalence of Salmonella in food animals in Ethiopia.
BACKGROUND
The globalization of the food supply and the increased movements of people, animals and goods have increased the threat of Salmonella infections in several countries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence of Salmonella in food animals in Ethiopia by using meta-analytical methods.


RESULTS
The prevalence of Salmonella in slaughtered cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were 7.07%, 8.41%, 9.01% and 43.81% respectively. The occurrence of Salmonella was significantly higher in pigs than in slaughtered true ruminants (p <0.001) but not significantly different between cattle, sheep and goats (p >0. 05). S. Mishmarhaemek, S. Infantis and S. Hadar were the predominant isolates in cattle, small ruminants and pigs respectively. S. Typhimurium was isolated from all host species.


CONCLUSIONS
All food animals are considerable reservoirs of Salmonella and pose a significant risk to public health. Safety measures in slaughter houses and butcheries and education of the public could reduce the risk of transmission of Salmonella from animals to humans.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 34, Debra Zeit, Ethiopia. getadesse1@yahoo.com.
Getachew
G
Tadesse
Institute of Biotechnology, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University, P.O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Tesfu74@yahoo.com.
Tesfaye S
TS
Tessema
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D006041:Goats; D015995:Prevalence; D012475:Salmonella / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012756:Sheep; D013552:Swine