THERMOTOLERANCE OF Salmonella species ISOLATED FROM POULTRY FARMS LOCATED AT UGBOWO AND

ABSTRACT

Salmonella is a food borne bacterium that uses a variety of survival techniques including its thermotolerance to flourish in many conditions. The aim of this study was to isolate and identify Salmonella species from poultry farms in Ugbowo axis and test for their survival at different temperatures. Swab samples of water can, feeder, poultry droppings and nose of poultry workers were obtained from two poultry farms in Benin City, Edo State. Enumeration and isolation of Salmonella species was carried out using pour plate method on Salmonella- Shigella agar. The morphological and biochemical characteristics of the isolates were used for identification. The survival of Salmonella species to temperatures of 4 oC, 30 oC, 70 oC and 100 oC were also determined. The antibiotic susceptibility of the Salmonella species isolated were determined by the disc diffusion methods. The antibiotics used were; ciprofloxacin, ampicillin, gentamicin, penicillin, streptomycin, chloramphenicol, sulfamethoxazoletrimethoprim) and aureomycin. The total Salmonella count of all samples ranged from 1.95±0.16x10 5cfu/cm2 to 2.00±0.20x10 5cfu/cm2 . Salmonella enterica and Salmonella gallinarum were the species isolated, where Salmonella enterica was isolated from nose of handlers and Salmonella gallinarum from poultry droppings. The survivability test revealed that Salmonella enterica and Salmonella gallinarum were only able to survive growth in temperatures of 4 oC and 30 oC and not 70 oC and 100 oC. Poultry farms should implement biosecurity protocols to minimize the introduction and spread of Salmonella.