Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated health risks of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold in elementary schools, Yaounde, Cameroon

Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated health risks of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold in elementary schools, Yaounde, Cameroon | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Short Report Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated health risks of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold in elementary schools, Yaounde, Cameroon Mary Nkongho Tanyitiku, Wilson Agwanande, Exodus Akwa Teh, Royas Mawe Laison, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754112/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Objectives: Street foods are an affordable source of nutrition in Cameroon; however, their association with microbial pathogens poses significant risks to public health. We investigated 160 street food samples sold within elementary schools for the presence of foodborne pathogens and also the antimicrobial resistance of cultured-confirmed bacteria isolates. Results: The total viable count of seven (bread, spaghetti, fish, peanuts, eggs, beef, pepper) of eight street foods (except beans sauce) were >10 5 cfu/g and indicated unsatisfactory levels for human consumption. Also, 16 bacteria pathogens with at least one in each street food were identified: E. coli was the most prevalent 47.50% (76/160), followed by Staphylococcus aureus 39.37% (63/160) in foods such as beef 80% (16/20) and bread 85% (17/20). Salmonella spp. 32.50% (52/160), Campylobacter spp. 14.37% (23/160) and Shigella spp. 23.75% (38/160) were largely isolated in eggs 60% (12/20), 35% (7/10), and pepper 40% (8/20) sauces respectively. Furthermore, except E. coli, all bacteria isolates were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin. Yersinia enterocolitica was the most susceptible to c iprofloxacin 90.90% ( 10/11), tetracycline 81.81% ( 9/11), gentamicin 81.81% ( 5/11), and chloramphenicol 90.09% (10/11). Staphylococcus aureus, Campylobacter spp., and E. coli were highly resistant to chloramphenicol 90.47% (57/63), tetracycline 82.60% (19/23), gentamicin 81.57% (62 /76), and vancomycin 64.47% (49/76), respectively. street food young children foodborne diseases foodborne pathogens antimicrobial resistance public health risk Cameroon Introduction Globally, the consumption of unsafe foods is estimated to cause 420,000 deaths and 33 million DALYs (disability adjusted life years) each year [ 1 , 2 ]. Among those affected, children under the age of five years are at high risk due to less developed immune systems to combat pathogenic infections [ 2 ]. In fact, almost 1.7 billion cases of childhood diarrhoea occur each year, leading to approximately 30% of childhood deaths in developing countries [ 2 , 3 ]. Diarrhoea is an intestinal tract infection, commonly caused by bacterial pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp. , etc. [ 2 , 3 ]. Infected children could experience 2–3 episodes of diarrhoea per year, and each episode can lead to nutrient deprivation, malnutrition, and eventually death [ 3 ]. The risk of foodborne diarrhoea is high in many African communities, mainly due to poor food handling, and hygiene [ 4 , 5 ]. Specifically, credible outbreaks of foodborne diarrhoea have been reported among street food handlers and schoolchildren in Ghana [ 6 ] and Indonesia [ 7 ]. Street foods are considered nutritious and readily affordable foods that provide a source of income for many people in developing countries [ 8 ]. However, its association with microbial pathogens is a serious threat to public health [ 9 – 14 ]. In Cameroon, several studies [ 8 , 12 , 15 – 17 ] have highlighted the poor microbial quality of street foods to include unregulated food safety and hygiene practices. However, the food safety risks of such street foods sold within elementary schools that generally enrol children from infant to primary school age have been completely ignored. Foodborne diarrhoea in such settings can be mitigated and even prevented when microbial exposure routes are identified and acted upon [ 18 , 19 ]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold within elementary schools in Yaounde, Cameroon. Materials and methods Sample collection and preparation. The study was carried out between September and December 2022 in Yaounde. Yaounde is the political capital of Cameroon, and due to socioeconomic conditions (poverty, busy work schedules, changes in tastes and food preferences), several households have been found to primarily consume street foods [ 8 , 12 , 16 , 17 ]. In total, 160 samples (n = 20 per street food) were purchased weekly from street vendors who sold in 20 elementary schools. Of the 5031 elementary schools in the region, these 20 schools were selected based on the overcrowded and cosmopolitan nature of its pupil’s population [ 20 , 21 ]. We were interested in two staples (bread, spaghetti) and six sauces (beans, fish, peanuts, eggs, beef, and pepper), based on their availability in all selected schools and since more than 50% of street vendors sold these street foods in Cameroon [ 17 ]. Upon purchase from street vendors, street food samples were placed aseptically in sterile polythene bags, transported to the laboratory in a cool box between 2°C and 8°C, and analysed within one hour. Microbiological analyses of street food samples Each sample was thoroughly mixed, and 25 g was homogenised in 225 mL of maximum recovery diluent. Serial dilutions were prepared, and then 50 µL of each diluent was plated and incubated on the respective agar and growth conditions. Total viable count (TVC) and total coliforms (TC) were plated on plate count agar and violet red bile agar, respectively, and incubated at 30 ° C for 48 h. Yeasts and moulds on dichloran rose-bengal chloramphenicol agar and incubated at 25°C for 5 days. Skirrow Campylobacter selective agar with SR0069 as supplement was used for Campylobacter spp., and incubated at 42 ° C for 48 h, under microaerophilic conditions. For E. coli, Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica , eosin methylene blue, xylose lysine desoxycholate, Palcam, Baird Parker, and MacConkey agars were used, respectively, and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Other Enterobacteriaceae were qualitatively identified using the RapID™ ONE System (Thermofisher, USA), according to the manufacturer's guidelines. Growth colonies were presumptively identified by Gram staining, catalase, oxidase tests, and using API 20E and API Listeria kits (Biomerieux, France). Antibiotic susceptibility testing for selected bacterial pathogens Antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out based on Kirby-Bauer agar disk diffusion method. Here, 3–5 of the cultured-confirmed bacteria isolates were transferred to 3 mL of nutrient broth, mixed, and normal saline was used to adjust to 0.5 McFarland standards. The suspension was spread uniformly on Mueller-Hinton agar, and was supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood for fastidious bacterial isolates [ 22 ]. Subsequently, five antibiotic-impregnated discs, namely, ciprofloxacin (5 µg), tetracycline (30 µg), gentamicin (30 µg), chloramphenicol (30 µg) and vancomycin (30 µg), were placed aseptically in the agar media, and sterile discs impregnated with 50 µL distilled water served as a negative control. The plates were incubated at 37°C for 18 h, and the results were interpreted as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant according to the CLSI breakpoint criteria [ 22 ]. All growth media and antibiotic-impregnated discs were obtained from Oxoid, United Kingdom. Statistical analysis All experiments were carried out in triplicate and analysed using SPSS (v26). Results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the means. Duncan's multiple range test was used, where the mean difference was considered significant at p < 0.05. Additionally, we calculated the percentages of bacteria prevalence in each type of street food. Results The TVC for the bread and spaghetti staples, as well as for the fish and beef sauces, were not statistically (p > 0.05) different (Table 1 ). Also, the TC, yeast and mould counts were high, and ranged between 1.77log 10 cfu/g (spaghetti) and 6.42 log 10 cfu/g (pepper), and 1.27log 10 cfu/g (beef) and 7.28 log 10 cfu/g (bread), respectively. In Table 2 , at least one bacteria pathogen was identified in each street food. Fish sauce was the most contaminated, containing 13 of the 16 bacteria isolates, and pepper sauce was the least contaminated, with six of the 16 bacteria pathogens. Furthermore, E. coli was the most prevalent 47.50% (76/160) in all street food samples, particularly in beef sauce 80% (16/20), bread 65% (13/20), and pepper sauce 55% (11/20). S aureus was the second most prevalent bacteria pathogen 39.37% (63/160) and was largely isolated in bread 85% (17/20), fish sauce 55% (11/20), and peanut sauce 40% (10/20). Other bacterial pathogens such as Salmonella spp. 32.50% (52/160), Shigella spp. 23.75% (38/160), Campylobacter spp. 14.37% (23/160) and E. aerogenes 14.37% (23/160) were highly prevalent in beans 75% (15/20), pepper 40% (8/20), eggs 35% (7/20) and beef 60% (12/20) sauces, respectively. E. cloacae 20.62% (33/160) was highly isolated in fish, beef, and pepper sauces at 40% (8/20). In all food samples, P. penneri 5% (8/160) and C. freundii 3.12% (5/160) were the least identified. Furthermore, Table 3 presents the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of six bacteria pathogens, namely, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica E. coli. All bacteria isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, but highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin. Except for Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp., all other bacteria isolates were largely susceptible to tetracycline. Specifically, Yersinia enterocolitica was the most susceptible to ciprofloxacin 90.90% (10/11), tetracycline 81.81% (9/11), gentamicin 81.81% (5/11), and chloramphenicol 90.09% (10/11). E. coli was the most resistant particularly to gentamicin 81.57% (62/76), and vancomycin 64.47% (49/76). Staphylococcus aureus and Campylobacter spp. were highly resistant to chloramphenicol 90.47% (57/63) and tetracycline 82.60% (19/23), respectively. Table 1 TVC and TC ( log 10 cfu/g) of street food samples. Street food Total viable count Total coliforms Yeast and mould Bread 7.89 ± 0.02 a 2.04 ± 0.02 d 7.28 ± 1.61 a Spaghetti 8.21 ± 0.90 a 1.77 ± 0.04 e 4.32 ± 1.08 b Beans 3.70 ± 0.02 f 3.56 ± 0.04 c 2.44 ± 0.00 b Fish 6.42 ± 0.03 b 5.63 ± 0.02 a 5.61 ± 0.12 b Peanut 5.83 ± 0.02 c 4.44 ± 0.04 b 2.89 ± 0.00 d beef 6.55 ± 0.77 b 5.56 ± 0.24 a 1.27 ± 0.88 d Eggs 5.34 ± 0.08 d 5.84 ± 0.99 a 1.69 ± 0.61 d Pepper 5.25 ± 0.04 e 6.42 ± 0.31 a 3.79 ± 0.51 c Mean 6.13 ± 0.64 4.40 ± 0.50 3.64 ± 1.11 cfu: colony forming units, n = 20 per street food, results are expressed in mean ± standard deviation of three replicates, different superscripts (a, b, c….) within the same column are significantly different at p < 0.05. Table 2 Prevalence of bacterial pathogens in street food samples Bacterial pathogens Bread n(%) Spaghetti n(%) Beans n(%) Fish n(%) Peanut n(%) Beef n(%) Eggs n(%) Pepper n(%) Overall prevalence N(%) E. coli 13 (65) 4 (20) 10 (50) 7 (35) 9 (45) 16 (80) 6 (30) 11 (55) 76 (47.50) Salmonella spp. 7 (35) 5 (25) 15 (75) 8 (40) 0 2 (10) 12 (60) 3 (15) 52 (32.50) Campylobacter spp 1(5) 0 2 (10) 5 (25) 0 5 (25) 7 (35) 3 (15) 23 (14.37) L. monocytogenes 4 (20) 3 (15) 0 2 (10) 2 (10) 4 (20) 0 2 (10) 17 (10.62) Y. enterolitica 2 (10) 3 (10) 5 (25) 0 0 1 (35) 0 0 11 (6.87) S. aureus 17 (85) 5 (25) 1 (5) 11 (55) 8 (40) 9 (45) 5 (25) 7 (35) 63 (39.37) Y. pseudotuberculosis 1 (5) 7 (35) 0 7 (35) 0 4 (20) 3 (15) 8 (40) 30 (18.75) E. aerogenes 2 (10) 2 (10) 0 2 (10) 1 (5%) 12 (60) 4 (20) 0 23 (14.37) E. cancerogenus 0 0 1 (10) 4 (20) 0 5 (25) 3(15) 0 13 (8.12) E. cloacae 0 0 2 (10) 8 (40) 7 (35) 8 (40) 0 8 (40) 33 (20.62) Shigella spp. 4 (20) 7 (35) 7 (35) 6 (30) 5 (25) 0 1 (5) 8 (40) 38 (23.75) K. pneumoniae 1(5) 5 (25) 0 3 (15) 2 (10) 0 0 2 (10) 13 (8.12) P. penneri 0 0 4 (20) 1 (5) 3 (15) 0 0 0 8 (5) P. oryzihabitans 2 (10) 6 (30) 0 4 (20) 1 (5) 5 (25) 0 0 18 (11.25) P. luteola 1 (5) 0 0 0 4 (20) 0 1 (5) 3 (15) 9 (5.62) C. freundii 0 0 2 (10) 0 0 1 (10) 3 (15) 0 5 (3.12) 0 = not detected in street food samples. Table 3 Antibiotic resistance pattern of foodborne pathogens Bacteria isolates Ciprofloxacin n(%) Tetracycline n(%) Gentamicin n(%) Chloramphenicol n(%) Vancomycin n(%) Salmonella spp. (n = 37) S 21 (56.75) 7 (18.91) 28 (75.67) 31 (83.78) 4 (10.81) I 16 (43.24) 11 (27.72) 4 (10.81) 6 (16.21) 10 (27.02) R 0 19 (51.35) 5 (13.51) 0 23 (62.16) Campylobacter spp. (n = 23) S 16 (69.56) 3 (13.04) 18 (78.26) 12 (52.17) 3(13.04) I 7 (30.43) 1 (4.34) 5 (21.73) 11 (47.82) 11 (47.82) R 0 19 (82.60) 0 0 9 (39.13) L. monocytogenes (n = 17) S 13 (76.47) 8 (47.05) 7 (41.17) 2 (11.76) 15(88.23) I 4 (23.52) 5 (29.41) 1 (5.88) 4 (23.53) 2 (11.76) R 0 3 (13.63) 9 (52.94) 11 (64.70) 0 S. aureus (n = 63) S 55 (87.30) 33 (52.38) 28 (44.44) 0 62 (98.41%) I 7 (11.11) 19 (30.15) 15 (23.80) 6 (9.52) 1 (1.58) R 1(1.58) 11 (30.56) 20 (31.74) 57 (90.47) 0 Y. enterocolitica (n = 11) S 10 (90.90) 9 (81.81) 5 (81.81) 10 (90.09) 0 I 1 (9.09) 3 (27.72) 5 (45.45) 1 (9.09) 2 (18.18) R 0 0 1 (9.09) 0 9 (81.81) E. coli (n = 76) S 53 (69.73) 36 (47.36) 1 (1.31) 11 (14.47) 17 (22.36) I 16 (21.05) 27 (35.52) 13 (17.10) 35 (46.05) 30 (39.47) R 7 (9.21) 13 (17.10) 62 (81.57) 10 (13.15) 49 (64.47) S = Susceptible, I = Intermediate, R = Resistant Discussion The results showed that all street foods were contaminated with various levels of microorganisms and only beans sauce (TVC = 3.70log 10 cfu/g) was within acceptable limits (TVC < 10 5 cfu/g) for human consumption [ 23 ]. Djoulde et al. [ 16 ] and Zokou et al. [ 24 ] respectively reported similar unsatisfactory bacterial count ranging between 5.1-7.3log 10 cfu/g and 2.56-4.48log 10 cfu/g in street-vended meat and egusi pudding in Cameroon. Within the same studied population, several unhygienic street food practices were reported such as the use of dirty utensils and hands to prepare and/or serve food, and the use of plastic packaging that was opened by blowing with the mouth [ 8 , 12 ]. Moreover, the poor food safety quality and microbial contamination of street food in this research could have occurred at any point, for example, from uncontrolled temperatures during cooking and food storage and the fact that food was sold unpackaged, and stalls did not have protective coverings against environmental contaminants (dusts, flies, rodents, dirt, and debris from the soil etc.). In addition, the results indicated significant public health concerns in street food consumption, as at least one foodborne pathogen was isolated in each street food. Similarly, our previous published investigations [ 25 ] reported a high prevalence of Listeria spp. (86%), Campylobacter spp. (75%), Yersinia spp. (71%), Salmonella spp. (69%), and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (57%) in edible land snails consumed in the region. Likewise, Ngueugang et al. [ 17 ] enumerated S. aureus (93.3%), Salmonella spp. (60.7%), Shigella spp. (57.4%) Citrobacter freundii (23.4%), E. coli (18.0%), Enterobacter aeruginosa (5.2%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (6.6%) in street foods sold in Douala, Cameroon. Nicholas et al. [ 15 ] identified E. cloacae (31.57%), Salmonella spp (10.52%), C. freundii , and K. pneumonia (15.78%) in street-vended pepper sauces in Buea, Cameroon. Although Enterobacteriaceae are typically a normal flora in the human intestinal tract, their presence at high levels (> 10 4 cfu/g) in cooked foods is an indicator of cross-contamination, inadequate cooking, histamine formation in scombroid fish (scombrotoxin) and, in particular, an increased risk of the presence of foodborne pathogens [ 23 , 26 ]. For example, the presence of E. coli in street foods indicated poor hygiene or faecal contamination [ 26 ], and C. freundii indicated mild to severe foodborne infections. In particular, C. freundii was reported to cause 152 cases of gastroenteritis and eight haemolytic uremic syndromes among nursery school pupils in Germany, who consumed contaminated green butter [ 27 ]. Furthermore, the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacteria isolates in street food could be devastating, as its health risks have also been emphasized in spoiled vegetables [ 28 ] and healthy pigs [ 29 ]. Recognising that AMR is a natural process primarily due to antibiotic overuse, other contributing socioeconomic determinants, such as poor community hygiene, poor infection control in hospitals and clinics, and the accumulation of antibiotics in the environment due to mishandling, could further lead to fatal diseases [ 30 ]. The high prevalence of S. aureus , 39.37% (63/160), especially in beef 45% (7/20), indicated a high risk of enterotoxin production [ 23 , 26 , 39 ], and, as shown, the isolates were highly resistant to chloramphenicol 90.47% (57/63) and gentamicin 31.74% (20/63). In the United States, for example, the five main isolated enteric pathogens in this research caused 291,162 illnesses in children under five years of age, which resulted in 102,746 physician visits, 7830 hospitalisations, and 64 deaths [ 31 ]. In these foodborne disease outbreaks, non-typhoidal Salmonella was the most prevalent (42%), followed by Campylobacter spp. (28%), Shigella spp. (21%), Y. enterocolitica (5%) and E. coli O157 (3%) [ 31 ]. It should be noted that foodborne diseases are not only limited to gastroenteric symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting), but also short-to-long term systemic infections [ 26 ]. As such, the presence of Campylobacter and Y. enterocolitica that were highly resistant to tetracycline 82.60% (19/23) and vancomycin 81.81% (9/11) indicated bloody and chronic diarrhoea that could develop into Guillain-Barré syndrome [ 36 ], Graves’ disease, and reactive arthritis [ 37 ], respectively. Although salmonellosis is common in foods such as meat, eggs, and milk; however, foodborne diseases have also been reported in bread [ 32 , 33 ] and peanut butter [ 34 ]. Salmonella spp. in ready-to-eat foods and its resistance to tetracycline and vancomycin are considered harmful to health regardless of their level of contamination, especially in children where irritable bowel syndrome could develop later in life [ 23 , 35 , 38 ]. In the study area, high levels of Salmonella spp. were previously attributed to inadequate refrigeration due to constant power shortages, and the ancestral practice of insufficient heating or reheating of food in Cameroon [ 17 ]. In fact, Salmonella spp. and Listeria monocytogenes in the selected street foods (25g of food) should be considered capable of causing disease [ 26 , 38 ]. Consequently, there is an urgent need to mitigate these identified health risks, such as through local government initiatives and effective food safety implementation programmes in Cameroon. Limitations The study presents several limitations as it did not: identify the different routes of food contamination among street food vendors, employ sensitive PCR techniques to detect more specific pathogens that are not often confirmed by conventional microbial culturing methods, identify genetic markers that encode virulence factors associated with human infections, using PCR [ 26 ], and establish any food safety incident of foodborne disease due to street food consumption in Cameroon, to correlate with the findings of the study. The study presents several limitations as it did not: identify the different routes of food contamination among street food vendors, employ sensitive PCR techniques to detect more specific pathogens that are not often confirmed by conventional microbial culturing methods, identify genetic markers that encode virulence factors associated with human infections, using PCR [ 26 ], and establish any food safety incident of foodborne disease due to street food consumption in Cameroon, to correlate with the findings of the study. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate Not applicable. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Funding The authors received no potential funding for the research. Author Contribution MNT, WA, EAT, RML and ICNP designed the study. MNT collected the samples, performed the lab analysis and wrote the original draft; EAT and RML performed the data curation and validation, review and editing. WA: review and editing; ICNP: collected the samples, performed the lab analysis, supervised the work, review and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Acknowledgements The authors thank placement students at the Wonet-bioscience laboratory of the Women’s Network of Biodiversity and Food Science, Yaounde, Cameroon, for their assistance with sample collection. Availability of data and materials The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request References Pires SM, Desta BN, Mughini-Gras L, Mmbaga BT, Fayemi OE, Salvador EM, Gobena T, Majowicz SE, Hald T, Hoejskov PS, et al. Burden of foodborne diseases: think global, act local. Curr Opin food Sci. 2021;39:152–9. Kirk MD, Angulo FJ, Havelaar AH, Black RE. 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Tack DME, Griffin PM, Cieslak PR, Dunn J, Hurd S, Scallan E, Lathrop S, Muse A, Ryan P, Smith K, Tobin-D’Angelo M, Vugia DJ, Holt KG, Wolpert BJ, Tauxe RV, Geissler AL. Preliminary incidence and trends of infections with pathogens transmitted commonly through food - Foodborne diseases active surveillance network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2015–2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. April 2019;68(16):369–73. Young Children and Foodborne Illness. A fact sheet from The Pew Charitable Trusts, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Center for Foodborne Illness [www.pewtrusts.org/foodsafety]. Canada H. Microbial guidelines for ready-to-eat foods – A guide for the conveyance industry and Environmental Health Officers (EHO). In.; 2010. Feglo P, Sakyi K. Bacterial contamination of street vending food in Kumasi, Ghana. J Med Biomedical Sci. 2012;1:1–8. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5754112","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Short Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":399508536,"identity":"543163ea-b131-4fed-864e-4ce288265320","order_by":0,"name":"Mary Nkongho Tanyitiku","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABO0lEQVRIie3Rv0vDQBQH8BdO0uUg60mH+ic8EIKCXP6VhEC6lCIILg4GhLiIri30j7CTa8JBssRmDbi0FDIVrItTES8/2uUiroL5Do9weR/ePQ6gS5c/GAxl0b5kIQCRDxf7c7Drj1Ah52HdIAkpifc7sQ5EjtF8EIc/PxIzeS0YIB9jYkTRNMj4y/1dvKaXfAw9sSQ0VUk6NCVxr1DIi82DN3eWxsNTKk+AekhorpLQ0yUhznNJVpIwNjL7IwwdH0ZA6FYhmBUlud2ThcsG7581MTbtJK+miJrMg5AzRvWasHKKejHMC3JmY+JMBcFosnBtRj2zv0PXCViB0UxdHzNPy7d44zxm0frj4ZpbrCeK48mOO0+Gu1puYoXIHDFb1pPmAeTWTXRoe5UqpNpw0LRa7U1dunTp8p/zDUT3c2C3Ch63AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Greenwich","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Mary","middleName":"Nkongho","lastName":"Tanyitiku","suffix":""},{"id":399508537,"identity":"35b8a259-36bb-495a-a941-b0e91f92e807","order_by":1,"name":"Wilson Agwanande","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Ngaoundere","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Wilson","middleName":"","lastName":"Agwanande","suffix":""},{"id":399508538,"identity":"fb347fe9-4528-4537-a339-ef4da0557ac8","order_by":2,"name":"Exodus Akwa Teh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Dschang","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Exodus","middleName":"Akwa","lastName":"Teh","suffix":""},{"id":399508539,"identity":"40ad6551-90c8-4463-9360-9268cea8a294","order_by":3,"name":"Royas Mawe Laison","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"AIC Mission Hospital Kijabe","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Royas","middleName":"Mawe","lastName":"Laison","suffix":""},{"id":399508540,"identity":"41576efb-c880-4f59-9c79-9aa2bb909617","order_by":4,"name":"Igor Casimir Njombissie Petcheu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Women’s Network for Biodiversity and Food Science","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Igor","middleName":"Casimir Njombissie","lastName":"Petcheu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-01-02 21:38:10","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754112/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754112/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":73446913,"identity":"1c12bd39-c8ff-4b44-a6bd-072d094f1373","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-01-10 05:07:41","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":941506,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5754112/v1/e727682f-c918-45d0-92a3-069187cf36ac.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated health risks of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold in elementary schools, Yaounde, Cameroon","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eGlobally, the consumption of unsafe foods is estimated to cause 420,000 deaths and 33\u0026nbsp;million DALYs (disability adjusted life years) each year [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. Among those affected, children under the age of five years are at high risk due to less developed immune systems to combat pathogenic infections [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. In fact, almost 1.7\u0026nbsp;billion cases of childhood diarrhoea occur each year, leading to approximately 30% of childhood deaths in developing countries [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Diarrhoea is an intestinal tract infection, commonly caused by bacterial pathogens such as \u003cem\u003eEscherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Campylobacter spp.\u003c/em\u003e, etc. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Infected children could experience 2\u0026ndash;3 episodes of diarrhoea per year, and each episode can lead to nutrient deprivation, malnutrition, and eventually death [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. The risk of foodborne diarrhoea is high in many African communities, mainly due to poor food handling, and hygiene [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. Specifically, credible outbreaks of foodborne diarrhoea have been reported among street food handlers and schoolchildren in Ghana [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e] and Indonesia [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStreet foods are considered nutritious and readily affordable foods that provide a source of income for many people in developing countries [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. However, its association with microbial pathogens is a serious threat to public health [\u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR10 CR11 CR12 CR13\" citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. In Cameroon, several studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan additionalcitationids=\"CR16\" citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e\u0026ndash;\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] have highlighted the poor microbial quality of street foods to include unregulated food safety and hygiene practices. However, the food safety risks of such street foods sold within elementary schools that generally enrol children from infant to primary school age have been completely ignored. Foodborne diarrhoea in such settings can be mitigated and even prevented when microbial exposure routes are identified and acted upon [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility pattern of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold within elementary schools in Yaounde, Cameroon.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Materials and methods","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSample collection and preparation.\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study was carried out between September and December 2022 in Yaounde. Yaounde is the political capital of Cameroon, and due to socioeconomic conditions (poverty, busy work schedules, changes in tastes and food preferences), several households have been found to primarily consume street foods [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. In total, 160 samples (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20 per street food) were purchased weekly from street vendors who sold in 20 elementary schools. Of the 5031 elementary schools in the region, these 20 schools were selected based on the overcrowded and cosmopolitan nature of its pupil\u0026rsquo;s population [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. We were interested in two staples (bread, spaghetti) and six sauces (beans, fish, peanuts, eggs, beef, and pepper), based on their availability in all selected schools and since more than 50% of street vendors sold these street foods in Cameroon [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. Upon purchase from street vendors, street food samples were placed aseptically in sterile polythene bags, transported to the laboratory in a cool box between 2\u0026deg;C and 8\u0026deg;C, and analysed within one hour.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eMicrobiological analyses of street food samples\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEach sample was thoroughly mixed, and 25 g was homogenised in 225 mL of maximum recovery diluent. Serial dilutions were prepared, and then 50 \u0026micro;L of each diluent was plated and incubated on the respective agar and growth conditions. Total viable count (TVC) and total coliforms (TC) were plated on plate count agar and violet red bile agar, respectively, and incubated at 30\u003csup\u003e\u0026deg;\u003c/sup\u003eC for 48 h. Yeasts and moulds on dichloran rose-bengal chloramphenicol agar and incubated at 25\u0026deg;C for 5 days. Skirrow Campylobacter selective agar with SR0069 as supplement was used for \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp., and incubated at 42\u003csup\u003e\u0026deg;\u003c/sup\u003eC for 48 h, under microaerophilic conditions. For \u003cem\u003eE. coli, Salmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eListeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eYersinia enterocolitica\u003c/em\u003e, eosin methylene blue, xylose lysine desoxycholate, Palcam, Baird Parker, and MacConkey agars were used, respectively, and incubated at 37\u0026deg;C for 24 h. Other Enterobacteriaceae were qualitatively identified using the RapID\u0026trade; ONE System (Thermofisher, USA), according to the manufacturer's guidelines. Growth colonies were presumptively identified by Gram staining, catalase, oxidase tests, and using API 20E and API Listeria kits (Biomerieux, France).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eAntibiotic susceptibility testing for selected bacterial pathogens\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAntibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out based on Kirby-Bauer agar disk diffusion method. Here, 3\u0026ndash;5 of the cultured-confirmed bacteria isolates were transferred to 3 mL of nutrient broth, mixed, and normal saline was used to adjust to 0.5 McFarland standards. The suspension was spread uniformly on Mueller-Hinton agar, and was supplemented with 5% defibrinated sheep blood for fastidious bacterial isolates [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Subsequently, five antibiotic-impregnated discs, namely, ciprofloxacin (5 \u0026micro;g), tetracycline (30 \u0026micro;g), gentamicin (30 \u0026micro;g), chloramphenicol (30 \u0026micro;g) and vancomycin (30 \u0026micro;g), were placed aseptically in the agar media, and sterile discs impregnated with 50 \u0026micro;L distilled water served as a negative control. The plates were incubated at 37\u0026deg;C for 18 h, and the results were interpreted as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant according to the CLSI breakpoint criteria [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. All growth media and antibiotic-impregnated discs were obtained from Oxoid, United Kingdom.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec5\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll experiments were carried out in triplicate and analysed using SPSS (v26). Results were expressed as mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;standard deviation, and one-way ANOVA was used to compare the means. Duncan's multiple range test was used, where the mean difference was considered significant at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05. Additionally, we calculated the percentages of bacteria prevalence in each type of street food.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe TVC for the bread and spaghetti staples, as well as for the fish and beef sauces, were not statistically (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;0.05) different (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e). Also, the TC, yeast and mould counts were high, and ranged between 1.77log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g (spaghetti) and 6.42 log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g (pepper), and 1.27log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g (beef) and 7.28 log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g (bread), respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, at least one bacteria pathogen was identified in each street food. Fish sauce was the most contaminated, containing 13 of the 16 bacteria isolates, and pepper sauce was the least contaminated, with six of the 16 bacteria pathogens. Furthermore, \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e was the most prevalent 47.50% (76/160) in all street food samples, particularly in beef sauce 80% (16/20), bread 65% (13/20), and pepper sauce 55% (11/20). \u003cem\u003eS aureus\u003c/em\u003e was the second most prevalent bacteria pathogen 39.37% (63/160) and was largely isolated in bread 85% (17/20), fish sauce 55% (11/20), and peanut sauce 40% (10/20). Other bacterial pathogens such as \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. 32.50% (52/160), \u003cem\u003eShigella\u003c/em\u003e spp. 23.75% (38/160), \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. 14.37% (23/160) and \u003cem\u003eE. aerogenes\u003c/em\u003e 14.37% (23/160) were highly prevalent in beans 75% (15/20), pepper 40% (8/20), eggs 35% (7/20) and beef 60% (12/20) sauces, respectively. \u003cem\u003eE. cloacae\u003c/em\u003e 20.62% (33/160) was highly isolated in fish, beef, and pepper sauces at 40% (8/20). In all food samples, \u003cem\u003eP. penneri\u003c/em\u003e 5% (8/160) and \u003cem\u003eC. freundii\u003c/em\u003e 3.12% (5/160) were the least identified.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e presents the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of six bacteria pathogens, namely, \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp., \u003cem\u003eListeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Yersinia enterocolitica E. coli.\u003c/em\u003e All bacteria isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic, but highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin. Except for \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. and \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp., all other bacteria isolates were largely susceptible to tetracycline. Specifically, \u003cem\u003eYersinia enterocolitica\u003c/em\u003e was the most susceptible to ciprofloxacin 90.90% (10/11), tetracycline 81.81% (9/11), gentamicin 81.81% (5/11), and chloramphenicol 90.09% (10/11). \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e was the most resistant particularly to gentamicin 81.57% (62/76), and vancomycin 64.47% (49/76). \u003cem\u003eStaphylococcus aureus\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. were highly resistant to chloramphenicol 90.47% (57/63) and tetracycline 82.60% (19/23), respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTVC and TC\u003c/b\u003e (\u003cb\u003elog\u003c/b\u003e\u003csub\u003e\u003cb\u003e10\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/sub\u003e\u003cb\u003ecfu/g) of street food samples.\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStreet food\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal viable count\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal coliforms\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYeast and mould\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBread\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.89\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.02\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.04\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.02\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.28\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.61\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpaghetti\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.21\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.90\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.77\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.32\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.08\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeans\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.70\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.02\u003csup\u003ef\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.56\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.44\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.00\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFish\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.42\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.03\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.63\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.02\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.61\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.12\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeanut\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.83\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.02\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.44\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.89\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.00\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ebeef\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.55\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.77\u003csup\u003eb\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.56\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.24\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.27\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.88\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEggs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.34\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.08\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.84\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.99\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.69\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.61\u003csup\u003ed\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePepper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.25\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.04\u003csup\u003ee\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.42\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.31\u003csup\u003ea\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.79\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.51\u003csup\u003ec\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMean\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e6.13\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.64\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e4.40\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;0.50\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e3.64\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;1.11\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ecfu: colony forming units, n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;20 per street food, results are expressed in mean\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;standard deviation of three replicates, different superscripts (a, b, c\u0026hellip;.) within the same column are significantly different at p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevalence of bacterial pathogens in street food samples\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"10\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c10\" colnum=\"10\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBacterial pathogens\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBread\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpaghetti n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeans\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFish\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeanut n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBeef\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEggs\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePepper n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall prevalence N(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (65)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 (50)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (45)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 (80)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 (30)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (55)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76 (47.50)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15 (75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 (60)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52 (32.50)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1(5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 (14.37)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eL. monocytogenes\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17 (10.62)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eY. enterolitica\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (6.87)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eS. aureus\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17 (85)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (55)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (45)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63 (39.37)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eY. pseudotuberculosis\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30 (18.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eE. aerogenes\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 (60)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 (14.37)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eE. cancerogenus\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3(15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (8.12)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eE. cloacae\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33 (20.62)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eShigella\u003c/em\u003e spp.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 (30)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (40)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38 (23.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eK. pneumoniae\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1(5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (8.12)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP. penneri\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP. oryzihabitans\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 (30)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18 (11.25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eP. luteola\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (20)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (5.62)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eC. freundii\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c10\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (3.12)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;not detected in street food samples.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAntibiotic resistance pattern of foodborne pathogens\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c2\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBacteria isolates\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCiprofloxacin\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003en(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTetracycline n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGentamicin n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChloramphenicol n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVancomycin n(%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;37)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21 (56.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (18.91)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28 (75.67)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31 (83.78)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (10.81)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 (43.24)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (27.72)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (10.81)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 (16.21)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 (27.02)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19 (51.35)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (13.51)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23 (62.16)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;23)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 (69.56)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (13.04)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18 (78.26)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 (52.17)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3(13.04)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (30.43)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (4.34)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (21.73)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (47.82)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (47.82)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19 (82.60)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (39.13)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eL. monocytogenes\u003c/em\u003e (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;17)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (76.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 (47.05)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (41.17)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (11.76)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15(88.23)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (23.52)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (29.41)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (5.88)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 (23.53)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (11.76)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (13.63)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (52.94)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (64.70)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eS. aureus\u003c/em\u003e (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;63)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55 (87.30)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33 (52.38)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28 (44.44)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62 (98.41%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (11.11)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19 (30.15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15 (23.80)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 (9.52)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (1.58)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1(1.58)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (30.56)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20 (31.74)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e57 (90.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eY. enterocolitica\u003c/em\u003e (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;11)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 (90.90)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (81.81)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (81.81)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 (90.09)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (9.09)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 (27.72)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (45.45)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (9.09)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 (18.18)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (9.09)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 (81.81)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;76)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eS\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53 (69.73)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36 (47.36)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 (1.31)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 (14.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17 (22.36)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16 (21.05)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27 (35.52)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (17.10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35 (46.05)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30 (39.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eR\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 (9.21)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 (17.10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62 (81.57)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 (13.15)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49 (64.47)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"7\"\u003eS\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Susceptible, I\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Intermediate, R\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Resistant\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe results showed that all street foods were contaminated with various levels of microorganisms and only beans sauce (TVC = 3.70log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g) was within acceptable limits (TVC \u0026lt; 10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003ecfu/g) for human consumption [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. Djoulde et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e] and Zokou et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e] respectively reported similar unsatisfactory bacterial count ranging between 5.1-7.3log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g and 2.56-4.48log\u003csub\u003e10\u003c/sub\u003ecfu/g in street-vended meat and egusi pudding in Cameroon. Within the same studied population, several unhygienic street food practices were reported such as the use of dirty utensils and hands to prepare and/or serve food, and the use of plastic packaging that was opened by blowing with the mouth [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, the poor food safety quality and microbial contamination of street food in this research could have occurred at any point, for example, from uncontrolled temperatures during cooking and food storage and the fact that food was sold unpackaged, and stalls did not have protective coverings against environmental contaminants (dusts, flies, rodents, dirt, and debris from the soil etc.).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, the results indicated significant public health concerns in street food consumption, as at least one foodborne pathogen was isolated in each street food. Similarly, our previous published investigations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e] reported a high prevalence of \u003cem\u003eListeria\u003c/em\u003e spp. (86%), \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. (75%), \u003cem\u003eYersinia\u003c/em\u003e spp. (71%), \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. (69%), and Shiga toxin-producing \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e (57%) in edible land snails consumed in the region. Likewise, Ngueugang et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e] enumerated \u003cem\u003eS. aureus\u003c/em\u003e (93.3%), \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. (60.7%), \u003cem\u003eShigella\u003c/em\u003e spp. (57.4%) \u003cem\u003eCitrobacter freundii\u003c/em\u003e (23.4%), \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e (18.0%), \u003cem\u003eEnterobacter aeruginosa\u003c/em\u003e (5.2%) and \u003cem\u003eKlebsiella pneumoniae\u003c/em\u003e (6.6%) in street foods sold in Douala, Cameroon. Nicholas et al. [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e] identified \u003cem\u003eE. cloacae\u003c/em\u003e (31.57%), \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp (10.52%), \u003cem\u003eC. freundii\u003c/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eK. pneumonia\u003c/em\u003e (15.78%) in street-vended pepper sauces in Buea, Cameroon. Although Enterobacteriaceae are typically a normal flora in the human intestinal tract, their presence at high levels (\u0026gt; 10\u003csup\u003e4\u003c/sup\u003ecfu/g) in cooked foods is an indicator of cross-contamination, inadequate cooking, histamine formation in scombroid fish (scombrotoxin) and, in particular, an increased risk of the presence of foodborne pathogens [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. For example, the presence of \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e in street foods indicated poor hygiene or faecal contamination [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e], and \u003cem\u003eC. freundii\u003c/em\u003e indicated mild to severe foodborne infections. In particular, \u003cem\u003eC. freundii\u003c/em\u003e was reported to cause 152 cases of gastroenteritis and eight haemolytic uremic syndromes among nursery school pupils in Germany, who consumed contaminated green butter [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFurthermore, the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of bacteria isolates in street food could be devastating, as its health risks have also been emphasized in spoiled vegetables [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e] and healthy pigs [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. Recognising that AMR is a natural process primarily due to antibiotic overuse, other contributing socioeconomic determinants, such as poor community hygiene, poor infection control in hospitals and clinics, and the accumulation of antibiotics in the environment due to mishandling, could further lead to fatal diseases [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e]. The high prevalence of \u003cem\u003eS. aureus\u003c/em\u003e, 39.37% (63/160), especially in beef 45% (7/20), indicated a high risk of enterotoxin production [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e], and, as shown, the isolates were highly resistant to chloramphenicol 90.47% (57/63) and gentamicin 31.74% (20/63). In the United States, for example, the five main isolated enteric pathogens in this research caused 291,162 illnesses in children under five years of age, which resulted in 102,746 physician visits, 7830 hospitalisations, and 64 deaths [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. In these foodborne disease outbreaks, non-typhoidal Salmonella was the most prevalent (42%), followed by \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. (28%), \u003cem\u003eShigella\u003c/em\u003e spp. (21%), \u003cem\u003eY. enterocolitica\u003c/em\u003e (5%) and \u003cem\u003eE. coli\u003c/em\u003e O157 (3%) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e]. It should be noted that foodborne diseases are not only limited to gastroenteric symptoms (diarrhoea, vomiting), but also short-to-long term systemic infections [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e]. As such, the presence of Campylobacter and \u003cem\u003eY. enterocolitica\u003c/em\u003e that were highly resistant to tetracycline 82.60% (19/23) and vancomycin 81.81% (9/11) indicated bloody and chronic diarrhoea that could develop into Guillain-Barré syndrome [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e], Graves’ disease, and reactive arthritis [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e], respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough salmonellosis is common in foods such as meat, eggs, and milk; however, foodborne diseases have also been reported in bread [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e] and peanut butter [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. in ready-to-eat foods and its resistance to tetracycline and vancomycin are considered harmful to health regardless of their level of contamination, especially in children where irritable bowel syndrome could develop later in life [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. In the study area, high levels of \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. were previously attributed to inadequate refrigeration due to constant power shortages, and the ancestral practice of insufficient heating or reheating of food in Cameroon [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. In fact, \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. and \u003cem\u003eListeria monocytogenes\u003c/em\u003e in the selected street foods (25g of food) should be considered capable of causing disease [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. Consequently, there is an urgent need to mitigate these identified health risks, such as through local government initiatives and effective food safety implementation programmes in Cameroon.\u003c/p\u003e "},{"header":"Limitations","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe study presents several limitations as it did not:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eidentify the different routes of food contamination among street food vendors,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eemploy sensitive PCR techniques to detect more specific pathogens that are not often confirmed by conventional microbial culturing methods,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eidentify genetic markers that encode virulence factors associated with human infections, using PCR [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e], and\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eestablish any food safety incident of foodborne disease due to street food consumption in Cameroon, to correlate with the findings of the study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study presents several limitations as it did not:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eidentify the different routes of food contamination among street food vendors,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eemploy sensitive PCR techniques to detect more specific pathogens that are not often confirmed by conventional microbial culturing methods,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eidentify genetic markers that encode virulence factors associated with human infections, using PCR [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e], and\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eestablish any food safety incident of foodborne disease due to street food consumption in Cameroon, to correlate with the findings of the study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors received no potential funding for the research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eMNT, WA, EAT, RML and ICNP designed the study. MNT collected the samples, performed the lab analysis and wrote the original draft; EAT and RML performed the data curation and validation, review and editing. WA: review and editing; ICNP: collected the samples, performed the lab analysis, supervised the work, review and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgements\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors thank placement students at the Wonet-bioscience laboratory of the Women\u0026rsquo;s Network of Biodiversity and Food Science, Yaounde, Cameroon, for their assistance with sample collection.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAvailability of data and materials\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePires SM, Desta BN, Mughini-Gras L, Mmbaga BT, Fayemi OE, Salvador EM, Gobena T, Majowicz SE, Hald T, Hoejskov PS, et al. Burden of foodborne diseases: think global, act local. Curr Opin food Sci. 2021;39:152\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eKirk MD, Angulo FJ, Havelaar AH, Black RE. 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J Food Prot. 2014;77(4):635\u0026ndash;9.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCremon C, Stanghellini V, Pallotti F, Fogacci E, Bellacosa L, Morselli-Labate AM, Paccapelo A, Di Nardo G, Cogliandro RF, De Giorgio R, et al. Salmonella gastroenteritis during childhood is a risk factor for irritable bowel syndrome in adulthood. Gastroenterology. 2014;147(1):69\u0026ndash;77.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eTack DME, Griffin PM, Cieslak PR, Dunn J, Hurd S, Scallan E, Lathrop S, Muse A, Ryan P, Smith K, Tobin-D\u0026rsquo;Angelo M, Vugia DJ, Holt KG, Wolpert BJ, Tauxe RV, Geissler AL. Preliminary incidence and trends of infections with pathogens transmitted commonly through food - Foodborne diseases active surveillance network, 10 U.S. Sites, 2015\u0026ndash;2018. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. April 2019;68(16):369\u0026ndash;73.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eYoung Children and Foodborne Illness. A fact sheet from The Pew Charitable Trusts, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Center for Foodborne Illness [www.pewtrusts.org/foodsafety].\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCanada H. Microbial guidelines for ready-to-eat foods \u0026ndash; A guide for the conveyance industry and Environmental Health Officers (EHO). In.; 2010.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFeglo P, Sakyi K. Bacterial contamination of street vending food in Kumasi, Ghana. J Med Biomedical Sci. 2012;1:1\u0026ndash;8.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"street food, young children, foodborne diseases, foodborne pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, public health risk, Cameroon","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754112/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754112/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eObjectives:\u003c/strong\u003e Street foods are an affordable source of nutrition in Cameroon; however, their association with microbial pathogens poses significant risks to public health. We investigated 160 street food samples sold within elementary schools for the presence of foodborne pathogens and also the antimicrobial resistance of cultured-confirmed bacteria isolates.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults:\u003c/strong\u003e The total viable count of seven (bread, spaghetti, fish, peanuts, eggs, beef, pepper) of eight street foods (except beans sauce) were \u0026gt;10\u003csup\u003e5\u003c/sup\u003ecfu/g and indicated unsatisfactory levels for human consumption. Also, 16 bacteria pathogens with at least one in each street food were identified: \u003cem\u003eE. coli \u003c/em\u003ewas the most prevalent 47.50% (76/160), followed by \u003cem\u003eStaphylococcus aureus \u003c/em\u003e39.37% (63/160) in foods such as beef 80% (16/20) and bread 85% (17/20). \u003cem\u003eSalmonella\u003c/em\u003e spp. 32.50% (52/160), \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter\u003c/em\u003e spp. 14.37% (23/160) and \u003cem\u003eShigella \u003c/em\u003espp. 23.75% (38/160) were largely isolated in eggs 60% (12/20), 35% (7/10), and pepper 40% (8/20) sauces respectively. Furthermore, except \u003cem\u003eE. coli, \u003c/em\u003eall bacteria isolates were highly susceptible to ciprofloxacin.\u003cem\u003e Yersinia enterocolitica was the most susceptible to c\u003c/em\u003eiprofloxacin\u003cem\u003e \u003c/em\u003e90.90%\u003cem\u003e (\u003c/em\u003e10/11), tetracycline\u003cem\u003e \u003c/em\u003e81.81%\u003cem\u003e (\u003c/em\u003e9/11), gentamicin\u003cem\u003e \u003c/em\u003e81.81%\u003cem\u003e (\u003c/em\u003e5/11), and chloramphenicol 90.09% (10/11). \u003cem\u003eStaphylococcus aureus,\u003c/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eCampylobacter \u003c/em\u003espp., and \u003cem\u003eE. coli \u003c/em\u003ewere highly resistant to chloramphenicol 90.47% (57/63), tetracycline 82.60% (19/23), \u003cem\u003egentamicin \u003c/em\u003e81.57%\u003cem\u003e (62\u003c/em\u003e/76), and vancomycin 64.47% (49/76), respectively.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern, and associated health risks of foodborne pathogens in street foods sold in elementary schools, Yaounde, Cameroon","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-01-10 04:51:37","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5754112/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"ef3921fa-c531-4a21-9a83-6d3d9a028f23","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 10th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-01-10T04:51:37+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-01-10 04:51:37","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5754112","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5754112","identity":"rs-5754112","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}