SALMONELLA, SHZGELLA AND GROWTH POTENTIAL OF OTHER FOOD-BORNE PATHOGENS IN ETHIOPIAN STREET VENDED FOODS

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the bacteriological safety of food items sold by street vendors with
regard to Salmonella and Shigella and to assess the growth potentiill of some foodborne
pathogens in some street foods.
Design: Collection of street-vended foods and laboratory based micrcobiological analysis.
Setting: Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Biology, Addis Ab:~ba University, Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia.
Results: Most of the street food samples had aerobic rnesophilic colrnts >lo7 cfulg. Nine
"kitfo" and one "egg sandwich"samples yielded Salmonella. Shigella w as isolated from three
"macaroni" samples. The Salmonella isolates were sensitive to all ten drugs tested but the
Shigella isolates had multiple resistance against five drugs. In a challe~~ge study, Salmonella
iyphimurium, Shigella Pexneri and Stuphylococcus aureus grew irl street-vended food
samples to hazardous levels within eight to twelve hours.
Conclusion: Street foods are heavily contaminated with micro-organi!:ms and are potential
sources of food borne infections. Health hazards from street foods may be significantly
minirnised by consumption within four hours of preparation.