Pathogenic Escherichia coli in Dried Meat Consumed in N’Djamena, Chad

Abstract

Dried meat is widely consumed in Chad, but consumption of uncontrolled meat can expose consumers to food poisoning, causing public health problems through the presence of micro-organism. Aims: To assess the hygienic quality of dried meat and characterize pathogenic strains of E. coli. Study Design: Cross-sectional descriptive study based on analyses of collected samples and interpretations of the results. Place and Duration of Study: Dried meat samples were collected from different sales point in N’Djamena from May to December 2020. Methodology: Escherichia coli were tested on TBX medium in accordance with ISO 16649-3: 2005. API®20E galleries 20100 CE were used for biochemical identification of isolated Escherichia. Conventional PCR was used to identify the virulence genes of Escherichia coli responsible for food borne diseases in dried meet consumers.  Results: The results revealed that E. coli was 47.5% from total strains bacteria. About the analysis, 40% of the E. coli isolates carried the stx1 gene, which is responsible for hemorrhagic diarrhea, and 00% of the E. coli carried the eaeA gene responsible for watery diarrhoea and gastroenteritis. Conclusion: This results demontrated the presence of virulence genes in pathogen causing bacteria strain in dried meat from N’Djamena. As a follow up from this finding an easy to used dried meat quality control manual of procedure was developed in view of preseving the health of consumers.