Multidrug resistant Salmonella species isolated from fufu grinding machines in Ghana

Multidrug resistant Salmonella infection has become one of the most dangerous health concerns in Sub-Saharan Africa. Most previous research shows that food and water are the sources of the human Salmonella infection in Ghana. This article examines Salmonella contamination of fufu, a thick paste prepared from pounded boiled tubers, traditionally prepared using pestle and mortar, a common food in West and Central Africa. The fufu grinding machine, a new technology for grinding fufu, is gaining root in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the urban areas where most people are inclined to use machines to minimize drudgery, leaving behind the traditional way which involves the use of a wooden mortar and pestle. To investigate the sources of these contaminations, 100 samples were collected from 50 randomly sampled fufu grinding machines in the Tamale Metropolis to examine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of Salmonella species. Fufu samples (SA) and fufu wash-out samples (SB) were collected from each grinding machine as described in ISO 6579:2002 protocol for the detection of Salmonella in food. Of the total 100 samples, 27% were confirmed Salmonella positive, of which 16 were fufu samples while 11 were fufu wash-out samples. Forty-eight percent (48%) of the 50 machines were contaminated with Salmonella. Contamination of wooden machines (85.7%) was higher as compared with the metallic machines (41.9%). The resistance levels of the isolates to the various antibiotics used were as follows: gentamicin (7.1%), nitrofurantoin (18.5%), ciprofloxacin (22.2%), erythromycin (81.5%), ceftazidime (85.2%) and ceftriaxone (88.9%). More of the isolates were resistant to three or more antibiotics (81.5% multidrug resistance). From this research, it can be concluded that there is high prevalence of Salmonella isolated from fufu grinding machines in the Tamale metropolis. Measures must be taken by the regulatory authorities to ensure that fufu prepared in grinding machines is safer. Also, awareness creation on antibiotic resistance and strict enforcement of laws on self-prescriptions of drugs would help avert multidrug resistance.