Phenotypic and Genotypic Detection of Salmonella species in Poultry and Poultry Products

Abstract

Salmonellosis is one of the most frequent and widely distributed food-borne bacterial diseases constituting a major global public health problem. Poultry and eggs are considered major sources of Salmonella. The objective of this study was to detect Salmonella species in poultry and poultry products in Khartoum State. Samples of poultry and poultry products including; eggs, burger, sausage, kofta and chicken were collected from different sources in Khartoum State. The samples were cultured on bacteriological media for primary isolation of contaminants. Salmonella species were isolated and identified by colonial morphology, Gram’s stain, biochemical tests and serological tests. Further investigation was done by real-time polymerase chain reaction. The results revealed that Salmonella spp. were detected in 63.6% and 74% when using conventional bacterial culturing method and RT-PCR respectively. The high percentage of Salmonella species was detected in kofta (19.2%), while the lowest percentage was detected in burger (12.4%). The predominant species of Salmonella is Salmonella enterica. The study concluded that RT-PCR was rapid and suitable for the detection of Salmonella species in poultry and poultry products compared with conventional cultural methods. Further investigations are required to confirm these findings.