Abstract:
Salmonella is one of the most commonly reported causes of foodborne diseases and is a serious public
health problem worldwide mainly in developing countries. Thus, this study was designed to assess the
prevalence and drug resistance pattern of Salmonella among outpatients attending Gimbi General
Hospital. A cross-sectional study was conducted from October to November 2024. Data on socio
demographic characteristics of the study participants and risk factors for infection with Salmonella were
collected using pre-tested structured questionnaire. Stool specimen was collected from all study
participants who presented with diarrhoea and transported to the laboratory for bacteriological analysis.
Identification of Salmonella was done by biochemical tests using standard bacteriological methods. The
drug resistance patterns of the isolates were evaluated using Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion technique on
Mueller–Hinton agar. In this study, the prevalence of Salmonella among study participants attending
Gimbi General Hospital was 7.2%. Risk factors like hand washing habit with soap before eating, hand
washing practice after toilet, experience of eating food kept for more than a day, drinking raw milk,
washing of fruits and vegetables before consumption and practice of using common knife for cutting raw
flesh and other food were significantly associated with Salmonella infection. The isolated Salmonella
were resistant to amoxicillin (100%), Tetracycline (100%) followed by Cotrimoxazole (63.6%).On the
other hand; the isolates were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin (100%), Ceftriaxone (90.9%) and
Chloramphenicol (63.6%). A total of 5 multiple drug resistance patterns were observed among the
Salmonella isolates. About 54.6% of the isolates showed MDR to two drugs, 18.2% to three drugs, and
9.1% to four drugs. At the end, this study revealed that, Salmonellosis is still a public health problem.
Therefore, there is a need for frequent monitory and evaluation system to minimize the burden posed by
Salmonellosis. Also, ongoing surveillance is needed to monitor changes in susceptibility patterns and to
guide empirical treatment choices and combat the rise of drug resistant pathogens.
