Pathogenic Bacteria Profiles in Street Cooked and Raw Meat from Selected Markets in Entebbe Municipality, Uganda

Background: Microbial contaminations and their toxins have a lead role in food-borne outbreaks (FBOs) through food poisoning, spoilage, and intoxications. In Africa, it’s approximated that 92 million people fall ill from consuming contaminated foods, resulting in 137,000 deaths each year. And yet, food safety does not seem to be a major concern within many countries in this continent. This study aimed at isolating pathogenic bacteria from street-cooked and raw meat from selected markets in Entebbe municipality, Uganda.

Methodology: This was a descriptive randomized cross-sectional study. Samples were in two clusters that is cooked and raw meat (chicken and beef). All of them were analyzed in the microbiology laboratory uniformly. A sample size of 40 was used. Selective media and bio-chemicals were used in the bacterial species isolation and identification respectively.

Results: A total of 11 isolates of bacteria were isolated and identified. These included gram-positive cocci: Staphylococcus spp (23.5%), and Enterococcus spp (12.3%); gram-positive rods: Corynebacterium spp (23.5%), and Mycobacterium spp (3.7%); and gram-negative rods: Serratia spp (1.2%), Citrobacter spp (9.9%), E. coli spp (1.2%), Salmonella spp (1.2%), and Shigella spp (1.2%).

Conclusion: There are significant levels of microbial contamination associated with street foods and these accounts for food-borne illnesses.