A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2015 to march 2016 to determine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of salmonella isolates in Addis Ababa and Debrezeit abattoir, Ethiopia. Swab samples were collected from a total of 288 meat samples (72 bovine, 72 ovine, 72 caprine and 72 chickens) from abattoirs and were subjected to microbiological examination. Based on the microbiological examination Salmonella is wide spread with overall prevalence rate of 5.21% (n=15). Species specific prevalence rate were found 5.56% (n=4) for bovine, 6.94% (n=5) caprine, 6.94 (n=5) ovine and 1.39% (n=1) chicken. There was no significance difference (P>0.05) on the prevalence of salmonella among species. The isolates were resistant to ampicillin (66.67%) and streptomycin (53.33%). A total of 15 salmonella isolates were tested for susceptibility to 7 (seven) selected antibiotics. Out of the 15 isolates tested, 8 (53.33%) isolates were multiple antibiotics resistant. The overall result of this study indicates that meat samples were contaminated with Salmonella and isolates were resistance to commonly used antibiotics. So, maintaining sanitation of meat, abattoir and premises and prudent use of antibiotics is recommended.

Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility, Meat swab, Prevalence rate, Salmonella