Prevalence and Distribution of Salmonella and Edwardsiella in Market Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) in Tehran, Iran.

Emadi, Hannaneh Sadat; Motallebi, Abbasali

doi:10.22034/jfss.2026.598248.1015

Prevalence and Distribution of Salmonella and Edwardsiella in Market Tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) in Tehran, Iran.

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Hannaneh Sadat Emadi ¹

Abbasali Motallebi ²

¹ Department of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Hygiene, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.22034/jfss.2026.598248.1015

Abstract

Our study aimed to determine the incidence of Salmonella and Edwardsiella contamination in tilapia fish sold in Tehran's markets. Fifty four tilapia samples were randomly purchased from wholesale, retail, and frozen sections of markets. Surface swabs were gathered under sterile conditions from each fish and transported to the laboratory in pre-enrichment media for bacteriological analysis. Standard culture-based approaches were employed for the detection and characterization of Salmonella and Edwardsiella. Initial screening identified 24 samples (44.4%) as presumptively positive for Salmonella and 4 samples (7.4%) for Edwardsiella. Following biochemical confirmation, the final prevalence of contamination was determined to be 7.4% (4/54) for Salmonella and 3.7% (2/54) for Edwardsiella. The occurrence of these pathogenic species in tilapia available to consumers highlights a potential public health risk. These findings underscore the necessity for implementing comprehensive control measures across the supply chain to mitigate the risk of foodborne illness and ensure people and consumer safety.

Graphical Abstract