| Sumario: | Slaughterhouse workers are considered a high risk group for zoonotic disease due to increased contact
with animals, animal products and excreta. Globally, slaughterhouse workers have been shown to have an
increased seroprevalence to zoonotic pathogens, though no such studies exist in Kenya. Slaughterhouse
workers may also act as reservoirs of these zoonotic organisms and asymptomatic carriage of pathogenic
bacteria has been demonstrated. This study aimed to determine the carriage of enteropathogens in
slaughterhouse workers in rural western Kenya and to determine if there was asymptomatic carriage of
Staphylococcus aureus specifically Methicillin Resistant S. aureus (MRSA). This study was conducted
in the Lake Victoria Crescent region of western Kenya. Five hundred slaughterhouse workers from this
region were asked a comprehensive questionnaire regarding risk factors for zoonotic disease, faecal samples
were collected for examination and culture and a nasal swab was cultured for S. aureus. This study reports
on the seroprevalence of Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, pathogenic Escherichia coli and Campylobacter
spp. in these individuals as well as reporting the nasal carriage of S. aureus and MRSA. This is the first
community based study regarding S. aureus and MRSA in Kenya. The asymptomatic carriage of these
organisms in slaughterhouse workers highlights a reservoir that may be important in the dissemination of
these pathogens. The study further comments on the risk factors for infection with these pathogens and
suggestions are made for simple hygiene interventions that can reduce disease in slaughterhouse workers
and dissemination to the wider community
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