Incidence of Salmonella typhi in fruit juices sold in Allahabad city and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern

Continuous rise in the number of outbreaks of food borne multi drug resistant (MDR) typhoid in India is an escalating problem and is linked to fresh fruit juices. MDR isolates of Salmonella typhi are on rise and are becoming a challenge for timely and appropriate treatment. In present work eighty fruit juice samples (40 each of pomegranate and orange) were collected from different locations of Allahabad City. The samples were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella typhi. The isolated Salmonella typhi were subjected to ten commercial antibiotic employing disc diffusion assay. Total 22 isolates of Salmonella typhi were collected from juice samples and incidence of Salmonella typhi from these samples was found to be 25% (16.9x104cfu/ml) in case of orange and 30% (6.08x104cfu/ml) in pomegranate juice. Among the ten commercial antibiotics tested, ofloxacin and chloramphenicol showed 100% sensitivity against Salmonella typhi isolates followed by co-trimoxazole, gatifloxacin and ciprofloxacin with a sensitivity of 95.45%. The least sensitivity (18.18%) shown by ampicillin and intermediate sensitivity was observed in cefixime (36.36%), nalidixic acid (68.18%), ceftriaxone (72.73%) and norfloxacin (90.91%). It was observed that out of total 22 isolates only one was found to be multi drug resistant. Appropriate administration of hygienic measures such as checking the quality of water used for the dilution as well as prevailing unhygienic condition related to washing of utensils and maintenance of the premises may reduce risk.