Staphylococci species are important milk-borne zoonotic pathogens. A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of staphylococci in milk, cow skin, milkers’ hands and equipment, as well as to assess the farm hygiene and pre-milking practices in dairy farms of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. A total of 604 milk and cow skin as well as swab samples (n=44) were also collected from personnel and milk containers. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were the most abundant isolates from udder milk (53%), udder skin (38.5%), teat skin (32.6%). Staphylococcus aureus was recovered from only udder milk (8.5%), udder skin (5.9%) and teat skin (4.4%). Only CNS species were isolated from milkers’ hands (42.1%), milking buckets (13.6%) and milk containers (8.7%). Farm and milking hygiene practices were poor in the farms. The presence of Staphylococcus aureus on teat and udder skin of cows indicates the high chance of contaminating milk during milking.

Keywords: Contamination, Cow, Cross sectional, Raw milk, Staphylococci