TITLE:
Antibiogram of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas Strains Isolated from Wastewater Generated by an Abattoir as It Journeys into a Receiving River
AUTHORS:
Olutayo I. Falodun, Abimbola O. Adekanmbi
KEYWORDS:
Abattoir, Pseudomonas Sp., Escherichia coli, Multidrug Resistance, Antibiotics
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.6 No.4,
April
19,
2016
ABSTRACT: Untreated wastewater from abattoir operations contains nutrients and other components that aid
the growth of microorganisms especially bacteria. They also serve as a habitat for potentially pathogenic
bacteria which might be a source of public health concern. The study was carried out to
determine the antibiotics susceptibility profile of Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas and
Escherichia coli) to selected antibiotics. Wastewater samples were collected from ten different
sampling points and cultured on Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) and King’s B medium. The bacterial
strains obtained from the wastewater samples were subjected to antibiotics susceptibility tests,
using the disc diffusion technique. A total of 60 Pseudomonas and 100 Escherichia coli were isolated
out of which none of the Pseudomonas strains showed resistance to imipenem, colistin sulphate,
meropenem and aztreonam, while 100% resistance was observed to ceftazidime and piperacillin.
All the Escherichia coli strains were resistant to oxacillin and ceftazidime, while the percentage
resistance to aztreonam, ertapenem, cefoxitin and tetracyline was 6%, 11%, 43% and
58% respectively. Eighty-five percent (85%) of the total Escherichia coli showed resistance to
more than two antibiotics, while 14% showed resistance to ceftazidime and oxacillin, with only
one isolate showing resistance to ceftazidime and cefoxitin. There is the need for an effective
treatment of wastewater generated from abattoir operations to prevent the potential spread and
transmission of antibiotic resistant bacteria to the human population who depends heavily on
some of the water bodies, receiving input from abattoir wastes.