Detection of Pseudomonas spp. in Chicken and Fish Sold in Markets of Assiut City, Egypt

Background: Pseudomonas spp. are of important food spoiling bacteria. They present around the world and are isolated from diverse sources. The main objective of this survey was to detect Pseudomonas spp. in fresh chicken and fish obtained from markets of Assiut city, Egypt.  Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, 50 samples of fresh raw chicken and 50 samples of fresh raw fish meat were randomly collected from Assiut city markets, Egypt. Then, in laboratory, cultural and PCR techniques were carried out to detect Pseudomonas spp. in the samples. Results: Pseudomonas spp. were isolated from 80% of the examined chicken samples and found in all the examined fish samples. All the isolates were confirmed as Pseudomonas spp. using 16S rRNA-PCR. The average number of Pseudomonas spp. in chicken flesh and Tilapia nilotica were 2.6×104 and 2.8×103 CFU/g, respectively while this rate was 1.4×105 CFU/g for African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). Conclusions: This study indicated contamination of fresh raw fish and chicken samples with Pseudomonas spp. which may be attributed to cross contamination. This contamination predicts inadequate shelf life of the examined samples especially African catfish.