Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of bacteria isolated from the hands of housemaids in Jimma City, Ethiopia.

Introduction: Bacterial pathogens continue to be a major cause of foodborne gastroenteritis in humans and remain a public health problem. Housemaids operating inside a kitchen could be the source of infection and may transmit disease-inflicting pathogens through contaminated hands. Objective: This study aimed to assess the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of bacteria isolated from the hands of housemaids in Jimma City, Ethiopia. Methods: A laboratory-based cross-sectional study was employed among 234 housemaids. Hand swab samples from the dominant hand of the study participants were collected under sterile conditions following standard operating procedures. Then, in the laboratory, the swabs were inoculated aseptically using streak-plating methods on the growth media, such as mannitol salt agar [ Results: The proportion of housemaids' hands containing one or more positive bacterial isolates was 72% (95% CI: 66.2, 77.8). The dominant bacterial isolates were Conclusion: The hands of housemaids are important potential sources of pathogenic bacteria that would result in the potential risk of foodborne diseases. Most bacteria isolates were resistant to tetracycline, ceftriaxone, and ceftazidime. Therefore, practicing good hand hygiene helps to prevent and control the spread of antimicrobial-resistant microbes.