Butcher-house related factors, Antibiogram signatures, and Bacteriological quality, of raw meat, sold in Adama town, Ethiopia.

Background: Foodborne diseases, mostly from animal sources (contaminated raw meat), remain important local and global public health challenges worsened by the widespread preparation and consumption of raw meat in poor hygiene settings in Ethiopia. The study was designed to determine the Butcher-house related factors, antibiogram signatures, and Bacteriological quality, of raw meat, sold in Adama town, Ethiopia, in 2019. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 112 consenting raw meat handlers working in the butcher houses of Adama town were given interviewer-administered, pretested, structured questionnaires to assess their knowledge and practices on meat handling. Pooled raw meat cuts from hanging display for sale were processed, and the quality of raw meat was determined using a serial dilution of total aerobic plate count, total coliform count, and total staphylococci count. The Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was used for the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of the isolated bacteria, and the statistical significance of the findings was calculated accordingly. Descriptive statistics were computed, and frequency distribution tables were used to describe most of the findings. All bacterial counts were normalized to colony-forming units per gram and converted into Log10 values. A 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to determine factors independently associated with the bacteriological quality of raw meat. Results: Three-fourths (¾th) of collected raw meat yielded an unacceptable bacterial load of total aerobic plate count based on Gulf Standard. The average contamination was 5.89±0.86, 4.27±0.73, 2.77±1.37, and 3.02±1.54 log colony-forming units per gram for total aerobic plate count, total coliform count, fecal coliform count, and total Staphylococcus aureus count, respectively. Raw meat collected from meat handlers who were trained on meat hygiene (AOR=5.8, 95%CI ???? 1.99-17.34), collecting money (AOR= 0.14,95% CI: (0.04-0.43) were associated with the bacteriological quality of raw meat. The proportion of raw meat samples that were positive for Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, and Shigella were 9.8%, 36%, and 2.67% respectively. The resistance of Salmonella was most frequently observed to Ampicillin (100%), Amoxicillin/ Clavunilic (54.5%), Tetracycline (36.3%) Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (18.2%). Staphylococcus aureus was resistant to Ampicillin (86%), Amoxicillin/ Clavunilic(70%), and ciprofloxacin (84%), whereas Shigella expressed resistance to Ampicillin (50%) and was 100% sensitive to the rest antibiotics used. Conclusion: Meat hygiene training for handlers at the Bucher-house significantly impacted the bacteriological quality of the raw meat studied. Salmonella species, Staphylococcal species, and Shigella significantly resisted the major groups of antibiotics (penicillins, quinolones) used in this study. Bacterial logarithmic mean values were beyond the acceptable standard indication of poor hygiene, making it a potential source of food-borne infection. Therefore, stringent inspection, regular supervision, training, and hygienic practices should be introduced to enhance the hygienic quality of meat for consumers.