Bacteriological assessment of mashed street food (Bharta) and their antibiotic susceptibility phenomena in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Abstract

Chitoi Pitha (a cake made from rice powder) is one of the most popular traditional street foods in Bangladesh. What makes Chitoi Pitha truly special is the Bharta that accompanies it. Bharta means mashed raw food items. There are many types of Bharta, usually made with vegetables/fish/seeds. Among them, Mustard seed bharta, dried fish bharta, and Coriander leaf bharta are very popular, especially in the winter season. The raw bharta is tasty. Heating of bharta loses its taste and flavors. Since they are typically eaten raw and without heat treatment or thorough washing, they serve as vectors for the transmission of pathogenic microorganisms. These vectors spread multidrug-resistant pathogens among the large population. A total of 24 bharta samples were collected from 8 different areas of Dhaka city. Selective and non-selective media were used to isolate and enumerate the bacteria. Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms were 63% and 37% respectively. From the 61 isolates, there were Staphylococcus aureus (36%), E. coli (31.1%), Salmonella spp. (13.1%), Klebsiella spp. (13.1%), and Vibrio spp. (6.5%). Antibiotic susceptibility testing showed Piperacillin, Imipenem, and Co-Trimoxazole were effective against most of the strains, but some of the organisms were multidrug resistant