Abstract
Background: Salmonella is a potential human pathogen that causes salmonellosis, a food-borne disease. Addressing these major food safety and public health issues with effective monitoring of food-borne pathogens and dietary measures.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in the local markets of Alsug Alkabeer (AB), Alsug Ashabi (AK), and Alsug Alsageer (AS) sites in Wad Madani state, Sudan to detect and assess Salmonella infection in raw and cooked chicken samples.
Results: The results showed that the maximum number of different Salmonella species was recovered from raw and cooked specimens of chicken obtained from AB, AK and AS which were 6.5, 4.4, and 4cfu/g, respectively. In addition, Salmonella spp. in the locally reared chicken is significantly (p < 0.05) higher than that of farm poultry. On the other hand, the highest Salmonella count was recorded in AS, AK and AB egg samples which were 5.9, 3.5, and 2.3cfu/g, respectively. Interestingly, eggs from local sources of chicken had significantly (p < 0.05) higher numbers of Salmonella spp. compared to those from farm sources. Six species of Salmonella were described, namely: Salmonella typhi, S. cheers, S. arizonae, S. enteritidis, S. pullorum, and S. gallinarum.
Conclusion: High occurrence of Salmonella spp. in this study might be attributed to the low hygienic measures in the poultry retail markets during slaughtering and/or handling processes. Further studies are required and should be conducted within Gezira state to assess food safety.