EPIDEMIOLOGY OF Escherichia coli O157:H7, AND ASSESSMENT OF POSTHARVEST LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH FISH HANDLING IN SELECTED LAKES OF NORTHERN ETHIOPIA
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Date
2018-06
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Abstract
A cross-sectional study with a simple random sampling approach was conducted from October 2017 to May 2018. The objectives of the study were; isolating and estimating the prevalence of Escherichia coli O157: H7, evaluating antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of isolates and assessing post-harvest loss in fish in selected Lakes of Northern Ethiopia. All the microbial identification and isolation procedures were conducted based on ISO 6887-3:2017 recommendations. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was also performed following the standard procedure of Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion protocol. Post-harvest losses assessments were conducted based on FAO recommendations of qualitative and quantitative field assessment methods. From the total of 410 fish samples examined, six (1.46%) of them were contaminated with Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli O157: H7 strain. The antibiotic susceptibility test revealed that the isolates were resistant to Ampicillin and Streptomycin. On the other hand, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamycin and Nalidixic acid were found effective in inhibiting the growth of most of the isolates. Fishermen believed that high environmental temperature, absence or delayed marketing, harvesting immature fish, predators, and flood are the major causes of post-harvest loss of fish in the two Lakes. The monetary value of post-harvest loss was estimated to be 10,934,000 ETB for the last 4-6 years in both study areas. The occurrence of such a pathogenic organism, and huge product loss associated with fish indicates the need for intervention by stakeholders. Supports like refrigerators, electricity generators, boat, legal net and on job training about proper handling practices may play a tremendous role in decreasing microbial contamination and PHL in fisheries sector.
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A Thesis submitted to the College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, Addis Ababa University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Veterinary Epidemiology
Keywords
Antibiotic susceptibility test, Escherichia coli O157, Fish