Enteric Bacteria from ready to eat food vended in Amassoma community in Niger Delta and its health implication

Abstract

Food consumption is one important aspect of life, therefore it is necessary to safeguard food from contamination, as contaminated food poses serious public health threat, especially foods that are prepared and sold outside for public consumption. Food handlers infected by several enteropathogens have been implicated in the transmission of many infections to the consumers. This study was conducted to survey the bacteriological quality and prevalence of enteric bacteria in ready to eat foods as very little information available on vended food in Bayelsa State, a coastal area in Nigeria. The study used the spread plate method for the growth of Salmonella spp, E coli, E coli 0157, Proteus sp, Klebsiella on SSA, EMB, Sorbitol Macconkey and Blood Agar with biochemical differentiation using Kigler Iron Agar (KIA) along with Motility, Indole and Urea (MIU) tests. A total of 16 isolates were tested of which salmonella species were (5), E coli (4), E coli 0157 (4), Proteus sp and Klebsiella sp (2) each. The isolates tested against selected antibiotics showed varying degree of susceptibility with total resistance observed in Augmentin, Ceftazidine and Cefuroxime. It is concluded that the isolation of Salmonella and E coli 0157 pose a significant health threat especially among children and the aged, as diarrhoea and typhoid incidence are reportedly high among these age groups. The results further suggest that there is necessity for educational/health orientation programmes for consumers and food vendors on hygiene, food handling and sanitation through awareness creation and capacity building.