Some Salmonella spp. are important pathogenic bacteria that can be transmitted to people via food and water and that can cause disease characterized by mild to severe enteric and systemic illness. In developing countries, infections caused by pathogenic antibiotic resistant Salmonella spp. are a major health challenge, particularly in children. Through the use of membrane filtration and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 1200 methods, the presence of fecal coliforms and antibiotic resistant Salmonella spp. in surface water sources was investigated, some of which had shared access for animals and people. Out of 100 water samples, 76 were positive for fecal coliforms and 63% of the positive samples contained >100 CFU / 100 ml of water. We observed a significant positive correlation between the number of fecal coliforms and the presence of Salmonella spp. (r=0.46, n=100, P=0.01). Importantly, >26% of the samples were positive for Salmonella spp. and 88% of these samples harbored isolates resistant to ≥1 antibiotic. Moreover, we found that 26% of antibiotic resistant Salmonella spp. isolates were able to transfer their resistance traits to a recipient strain of Escherichia coli at the rate of 1-7 x 10 -3 per donor cells. Microbiological contamination of water was clearly evident in open water sources from northern Tanzania, and the presence of Salmonella spp. poses an immediate risk to anyone who consumes these waters if untreated.

Meat products are clearly associated with foodborne pathogens including, antibiotic-resistant strains. Population growth and growing consumer demand facilitate the transmission of foodborne pathogens, particularly in developing countries. To determine the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Salmonella in goat meat, a study was done in Tanzania (June to July, 2015). Overall 120 goat meat samples were collected from five large and five small slaughter facilities (n = 60, respectively). Pre-enrichment for Salmonella isolation was done in Tryptic Soy Broth followed by selective enrichment in Modified Semisolid Rappaport-Vassiliadis agar. Isolation of Salmonella was done in xylose-Lysine-Deoxycholate agar followed by biochemical confirmation in triple sugar iron agar. The average prevalence of Salmonella was 60 and 63% in large and small facilities, respectively. Breakpoint assays indicated an overall low prevalence of resistance (2 to 4%; n = 219 isolates) to ampicillin, amoxicillin, streptomycin, sulphamethoxazole and trimethoprim with complete susceptibility to ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime and cefotaxime. No significant difference (p > 0.05) in the prevalence of resistance between large and small facilities was observed. High probability of Salmonella contamination of goat meat from Arusha area of Tanzania can pose risks to consumers. Antibiotic resistance appears minimal in this population. Improved hygienic slaughter and meat-handling practices are encouraged to reduce the burden of Salmonella-positive meat products.