Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and public health risk assessment of zoonotic bacterial pathogens in raw cattle meat from three zonal cities in Tigray, Ethiopia

In a cross-sectional survey of 132 raw cattle-meat samples from three urban abattoirs in Tigray, Ethiopia, bacterial contamination was found in ~95 % of samples, with high frequencies of Escherichia coli (38.6 %), Salmonella spp. (63.6 %), Staphylococcus aureus (65.2 %) and Campylobacter spp. (43.9 %). Alarmingly, resistance was observed to antibiotics including vancomycin (100 %) and erythromycin (78.3 %), while resistance to the more commonly used amoxicillin was moderate (47.8 %). A survey of livestock owners and veterinary professionals revealed that although veterinary professionals had relatively good knowledge of rational drug use (~79 %), livestock-owner practices were poorer (~56 %). The study underscores the combined risk from hygiene-lapses in meat processing, unregulated antibiotic use in animals, and transmission of resistant zoonotic pathogens — calling for strengthened meat-hygiene systems, improved veterinary antibiotic regulation, and awareness campaigns to safeguard public health.