Abstract:
The giant fresh water prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii (de Man), a leading export item of Bangladesh was studied in terms of pathogenic bacteria contents. The samples were collected from nine different local markets and super shops of Dhaka of Dhaka metropolis namely Newmarket , Karwan Bazar, Swarighat, Palashi Bazar, Ananda Bazar, Kpatan Bazar, Mina Bazar, Shapno supershop and Agora. In microbiological analysis, total viable bacteria, total coliform, total faecal coliform, total Salmonella and total Vibrio count were ranged from 1.60×105 to 1.8×107 1.5 ×10 4 to 1.28 × 106, 6.3 × 102 to 5.7 × 104, 0.0 to 1.30 ×103, 0.0 to 6.8× 103 cfu/gm, respectively. In microbiological analysis, significantly higher viable bacteria abundance was found in the sample prawn collected from Newmarket fish Bazar than of other. Total coliform, faecal coliform and total vibrio count of examined prawn sampled from Ananda Bazar fish market was significantly higher than that of other markets (p<0.05). Total Salmonella, Shigella count found in muscle of prawn sampled from Karwan Bazar fish market was significantly higher than that of others. Collected prawn samples from local market showed relatively high microbial load and presence of pathogens in the tested samples. However, comparatively low level of bacterium was found in the examined super shops. Total coliform, faecal coliform, total Salmonella and total Vibrio count was nill in the super shop, Shapno and Agora. Low bacterial count was found in the prawn sample of Mina Bazar. The results of this study constitute an indicator of bacteriological contamination of a variety of fish and shell fishes. The presence of these pathogenic organisms in these samples of local markets could pose a serious threat and hazard to vulnerable people. Thus, fish and shellfish should be adequately cooked before consumption. Good manufacturing practices should always be observed by the trade to minimize the risk of food poisoning associated with the consumption of fish products.
