Abstract:
The present study was conducted from October 2020 to October, 2021 with the objectives of
isolation and identification of Salmonella and E. coli from environmental sources in poultry
farms in Harar and Haramaya towns, eastern Ethiopia. A total of 52 samples comprising 48
from 12 poultry farms in Harar and 4 samples from 1 poultry farm in Haramaya were
collected based on random sampling. Standard cultural and biochemical methods were used to
isolate both Salmonella and E. coli. SPSS version 20.0 software (IBM) was used for the
analyses of data. The overall prevalence of E. coli and Salmonella from the samples was 50%
and 59.61%, respectively. The analysis of risk factors showed that Salmonella occurrence was
significantly influenced (p<0.05) by manure disposal types, farm cleaning practices, and
educational status of farm workers. E. coli prevalence was significantly associated (p<0.05)
with risk factors such as poultry farm systems, in that it was higher in traditional (85.5%) than
modernized one (28.1%). The prevalences of E. coli and Salmonella spp based on sample
types were 69.2% and 38.4% in water; 46.2% and 84.6% in litter; 46.2% and 69.23% in feed;
and 38.5% and 46.2% in swab samples of poultry houses. Generally, the study revealed that
contact surfaces in the poultry farms are the potential sources for the both E. coli and
Salmonella and large proportions of farm environments are contaminated with the tested
bacterial species. The isolated bacteria could have a significant public health consequence due
to direct transmission from the environment as well as infected poultry and their products
through the food chain. Thus, in the control of infectious diseases, it is important to give high
priority in controlling dissemination of bacterial pathogens in the environments and poultry
farms operational units should be based on modernized systems and in a way that is suitable
for cleaning and disinfecting.
