Pathogens and antibiotic resistant bacteria in abattoir waste and animals : a study involving abattoir wastewater, earthworms and Marabou storks

Abstract: The aims of this study were to investigate abattoir wastewater for Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. (indicator bacteria for faecal contamination), Salmonella spp. and investigate if pathogens such as Salmonella spp. could be detected in earthworms living in soil contaminated by abattoir wastewater and in Marabou storks feeding from an abattoir drainage channel in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It was also to investigate the antibiotic resistance among Escherichia coli from the different sources. The study was conducted at Kampala City Abattoir where samples of abattoir wastewater, earthworms and Marabou stork faeces were collected. The results showed that the abattoir wastewater contained high levels of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp. Salmonella spp. was not detected but Citrobacter freundii and Shigella spp were found. From the earthworms Escherichia coli was isolated but not Enterococcus spp. or Salmonella spp. No Salmonella spp. was isolated from the Marabou storks. Antibiotic resistance profiling revealed differences in antibiotic resistance between the Escherichia coli from the different sources where Escherichia coli from the Marabous were most resistant. To minimize the public health risks that bacterial pathogens in abattoir wastewater pose this study suggests that faeces and other abattoir waste is collected and destroyed/made nonhazardous, or that there is a continuous cleaning of wastewater. As well that the availability for scavenging animals such as the Marabou stork to feed from the drainage channel is minimized. The study also recommends that actions be taken to reduce the usage and availability of antibiotics to reduce antibiotic resistance.