Food-borne pathogens are one of the leading causes of illness and death particularly in developing countries. This study was aimed at analyzing the hygiene indicator microorganisms and pathogens of minced meat and contact surface materials in butcher shops in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Additionally, a checklist was applied to evaluate the hygiene condition of the establishments, and a questionnaire/checklist was used to assess food safety knowledge of the food handlers. This study has indicated that the mean microbial counts (total aerobic mesophilic, staphylococci,Enterobacteriaceae, total coliforms, fecal coliforms, aerobic spores and yeasts/molds) of the minced meat and contact surface materials in butcher shops ranged between 2.35 and 6.50 log·cfu/g and between 1.80 and 6.30 log·cfu/cm², respectively. The mean microbial counts of minced meat samples taken in the morning and afternoon showed statistically significant differences (p<0.05). The prevalence ofE. coli,Salmonella, andS. aureusin minced meat and contact surface samples was exhibited as 43.75 and 29.17%, 6.25 and 4.17%, and 37.50 and 37.50% in that order. The study has indicated that minced meat samples and contact surface materials had higher microbial load with poor personal and work area sanitation. Low knowledge of food handlers in the butcher shops and broken cold chain have also been found as major contributing factors for the contamination of beef.

Injera is soft fermented baked product, which is commonly prepared from teff (Eragrostis tef(Zucc.)) flour and believed to be consumed on daily basis by two-thirds of Ethiopians.As it is a product of naturally fermented dough, the course of fermentation is done by consortia of microorganisms. The study was aimed at isolating and identifying some dominant bacteria from fermentingteff (Eragrostis tef)dough. A total of 97 dough samples were collected from households, microenterprises, and hotels with different fermentation stage from Addis Ababa. The bacterial isolates obtained from the fermentingteffdough samples were selected on the basis of their acid production potentials. A total of 24 purified bacterial isolates were found to be Gram-positive (they are coccus and rod under microscope) and were good acid producers. Genomic DNA of bacterial isolates were extracted using Invisorb® Spin DNA Extraction kit. 16S rRNA of bacterial isolates were amplified using the bacteria universal primers (rD1 and fD1). The amplified product was sequenced at Genewiz, USA. Sequence analysis and comparison with the resources at the database were conducted to identify the isolated microbes into species and strain levels. The bacterial isolates were identified asLactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis, Enterococcus durans, Enterococcus hirae, Enterococcus avium,andEnterococcus faecium. All identified lactic acid bacteria were able to produce acid at 12 h time of incubation. This study has confirmed the presence of different bacterial species in the fermentingteffdough and also supports the involvement of various groups of bacterial species in the course of the fermentation.

Probiotics are live microorganisms which when consumed in large number together with a food promote the health of the consumer. The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro probiotic properties of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from traditional Ethiopian fermented Teff injera dough, Ergo and Kocho products. A total of 90 LAB were isolated, of which 4 (4.44%) isolates showed 45.35-97.11% and 38.40-90.49% survival rate at pH values (2, 2.5 and 3) for 3 and 6 h in that order. The four acid tolerant isolates were found tolerant to 0.3% bile salt for 24 h with 91.37 to 97.22% rate of survival. The acid-and-bile salt tolerant LAB isolates were found inhibiting some foodborne test pathogenic bacteria to varying degrees. All acid-and-bile tolerant isolates displayed varying sensitivity to different antibiotics. The in vitro adherence to stainless steel plates of the 4 screened probiotic LAB isolates were ranged from 32.75 to 36.30% adhesion rate. The four efficient probiotic LAB isolates that belonged to Lactobacillus species were identified to strain level using 16S rDNA gene sequence comparisons and namely were Lactobacillus plantarum strain CIP 103151, Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. tolerans strain NBRC 15906, Lactobacillus paracasei strain NBRC 15889 and Lactobacillus plantarum strain JCM 1149. The four Lactobacillus strains were found to have potentially useful to produce probiotic products.

Identification of the yeast responsible for Injera fermentation is important in order to be more consistent and for scale-up of Injera production. In this study, yeast were isolated and identified from fermenting teff dough sample collected from household, hotels, and microenterprises, Addis Ababa. Initially, the yeast obtained from fermenting teff dough of different sources were selected on the basis of their CO2 production potentials. Its DNA sequencing of isolated yeast identified Pichia fermentans, Pichia occidentalis, Candida humilis, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Kazachstania bulderi. The association of identified yeast to their sources indicated the presence of Pichia fermentans in fermenting dough samples collected from all sources whereas Kazachstania bulderi, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Candida humilis were shown to be present in samples collected from households, hotels, and microenterprises, respectively. The phenotypes and CO2 production potentials of this yeast were also documented. This study has confirmed the presence of different yeast species in the fermentation of teff dough and hinted the complex nature of Injera dough fermentation.

Background. Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a health problem in both developed and developing countries, including Ethiopia.Objective. In this study, the prevalence of smear-positive tuberculosis among presumptive TB cases who visited the hospital was assessed.Method. Acid fast bacilli (AFB) test was performed on samples collected from 200 presumptive TB cases. Data were analyzed using appropriate statistical tools.Result.Among 200 presumptive TB cases, 10% (20 individuals) (60% were male and 40% were female) were found to be positive for the AFB. Of these AFB positive subjects, 11.2% and 6.3% were from urban and rural areas, respectively. Among 20 AFB positive cases, 45% (9), 45% (9), and 10% (2) were HIV positive, HIV negative, and with HIV status unknown, respectively. The highest AFB positive cases were found within age group between 25 and 44 years (70%) and followed by age above 40 years (30%). It was found out that 75% (15), 15% (3), 5% (1), and 5% (1) were unemployed, government employed, student, and nongovernment employed, accordingly.Conclusion.This study indicated higher level of AFB positive cases within age groups of 25–44 and 65–74 years and also exhibited higher prevalence of TB cases from urban areas.