#fried fish

Fish has many nutritional benefits that are good for consumers’ health. However, fish is highly perishable due to its composition. The objective of this study was to assess the risk of infection associated with the consumption of fried fish contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. A total of 291 samples of fried fish from 10 municipalities in Abidjan were analyzed using the isolation and identification method followed by an antibiogram. The prevalence rates were 4.12% (Staphylococcus aureus), 0.34% (Escherichia coli), and 6.19% (Bacillus cereus). Staphylococcus aureus was mainly found in sole fish (family Cynoglossidae) from the municipality of Adjame, and Bacillus cereus in horse mackerel (family Carangidae) from the municipality of Koumassi. The sensitivity of the bacteria was tested with eight families of antibiotics and revealed that Escherichia coli was sensitive to the antibiotics tested. As for Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus, the resistance rates observed were 75% and 22.22%, respectively. The resistance rates of the isolated Staphylococcus aureus strains were 58.33% (penicillin), 66.67% (sulfonamides-trimethoprim) and 8.33% (aminoglycosides). In contrast, resistance in Bacillus cereus was observed in the macrolide (16.67%), lincosamide (11.11%), aminoglycoside (5.56%) and fosfomycin (5.56%) families. Although the cooking process requires high temperatures, fried fish sold in Abidjan poses some risk of infection to consumers. However, only compliance with good hygiene and manufacturing practices will guarantee consumer safety.