The Public Health Importance of the Association between Componotus Consobrinus and Potential Bacterial Pathogens in Human Dwellings

Abstract

Camponotus consobrinus, the banded sugar ant is so called because of its liking for sweet food. This study was carried out to determine the association between Camponotus consobrinus and potential bacterial pathogens in human dwellings and their public health importance. The ants were purposively collected from four locations; kitchens, bed rooms of various homes, shops and bakeries. Out of the 250 Camponotus consobrinus caught for the study, 90(36.0%) were caught in the kitchen, 75(30.0%) in the bed rooms 40(16.0%) in the bakery while 45(18.0%) were caught in the shops. A prevalence of 82.0% microbial isolates was recorded in the study. The kitchen had the highest number of isolates was 75(36.6%) followed by the bed room 55(26.8%) while the bakery recorded the lowest number of isolates 35(17.1%). Escherichia coli was the most common isolate 73(30.0%), followed by Morganella morganii 45(18.0%) while Serratia marcescens and Citrobacter freundii were the lowest common isolates 10(4.0%) each. Most of the Compnotous consobrinus examined in the four locations harboured potential pathogens. The presence of ants in homes and shops may lead to the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, the control of ants in human dwellings must be taken seriously.