title: Prevalence of salmonella infection in dogs in maiduguri, northeastern Nigeria.
abstract: The prevalence and antimicrobial sensitivity of Salmonella from dogs in Maiduguri Metropolis were determined using standard bacteriological methods to assess the risk of possible transmission of Salmonella infection from dogs to humans. Of 119 samples, Salmonella was isolated from 52 (43.7%). Males had higher prevalence of 50.0% compared with 34.7% in females (P < 0.05). Dogs older than 24 months had higher prevalence of 61.0% and the lowest was seen in dogs aged 13-24 months (P < 0.05). The prevalence of 31.8%, 41.2%, and 58.8% was observed in dogs aged 3-6, 10-12, and 7-9 months, respectively. High prevalence of 49.5% was observed in Mongrels, while Terrier and Alsatian breeds had 30.0% and 8.3%, respectively. Salmonella isolates from Alsatian and Terrier breeds showed about 100% susceptibility to all the tested antimicrobials. Higher percentage of the Salmonella isolates from Mongrels also showed susceptibility to ciprofloxacin (89.7%), amoxicillin (87.6%), vancomycin (86.6%), and chloramphenicol (84.5%). However about 50% of these isolates showed resistance to ofloxacin. The carrier status of Salmonella is high among dogs especially Mongrels. Therefore good environmental hygiene, discouraging straying coupled with feeding of dogs with properly cooked and uncontaminated feeds was recommended to mitigate risk of human salmonellosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, PMB 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Saleh Mohammed
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Jajere
authors.affiliation: Veterinary Microbiology Research Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, PMB 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Samson Amali
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Onyilokwu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, PMB 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Nuhu Bala
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Adamu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, PMB 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Naphtali Nayamanda
authors.initials: NN
authors.lastname: Atsanda
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University, PMB 1096, Zaria, Kaduna State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Adamu Saleh
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Saidu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, PMB 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Shuaibu Gidado
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Adamu
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, PMB 1069, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
authors.forename: Fatima Bukar
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Mustapha