Prevalence of Salmonella in raw minced meat, raw fresh sausages and raw burger patties from retail outlets in Gaborone, Botswana

The prevalence of Salmonella in raw minced meat, raw burger patties and raw fresh sausages was determined by analysing 122 minced meat, 120 sausages and 58 burger patties obtained from retail outlets in Gaborone, Botswana. The prevalence rate was 20%. The most prevalent serogroups were B, followed by C and E/G. The Salmonella enterica serovars isolated were S. Typhi, S. Enteritidis, S. Anatum, S. Reading, S. Melagridis, S. Typhimurium, S. Paratyphi B, S. Newport, S. Bovis-morbificans, S. Braenderup, S. Infantis, S. Tennessee and S. Montevideo. The presence of S. Typhi and Paratyphi in meat products indicate human origin and therefore poor personal hygiene during handling of the meat products. Multidrug resistance patterns involving sulphatriad, sulphafurazole, tetracycline and cotrimoxazole were observed. Isolates in serogroups B and C were resistant to a greater number of antibiotics than isolates from other serogroups.