Molecular Detection and Prevalence of Non-O157 Shiga Toxigenic Escherichia Coli in Selected Chicken Abattoirs and Retail Outlets in Osogbo, Osun State Nigeria
Abstract Three selected chicken abattoirs and two retail locations were studied to determine the prevalence and profile for Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) present in abattoirs and retail (frozen) chicken carcasses in Osun state, Nigeria. Samples were plated on differential and selective media for the presence of E. coli. Multiplex PCR was used to check for specific virulence factors in the isolated E. coli samples. The mean colony count results showed that effluent water samples from the Ikirun slaughter slab type abattoir were the highest at 25 cfu/ml. A post hoc comparison showed that this value was significantly higher than that of the slaughtering table at Oluode-1 (P = 0.04) and retail chicken meat samples at Igbona (P = 0.01). These results suggest inadequate waste management and biological waste disposal systems and guides on best practices to limit the spread of potentially virulent pathogens into the runoff and groundwater.