Occurrence and Antibiotic Profile of Some Enteric Bacteria in Retailed Sachet Water Sold in Oluponna, Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

The research reports the occurrence and antibiogram pattern of the pathogenic organisms Shigella spp., Salmonella spp. and Escherichia coli in retailed sachet water to assess their microbial quality and potential health impact on consumers. A total of 50 sachet water, consisting of three different brands, were bought from sale outlets in Oluponna, Osun State, Nigeria and screened on Salmonella-Shigella agar for Shigella spp.and Salmonella spp. and on Eosin-methylene agar for E. coli using the pour plating technique. Antibiotic sensitivity profile using 0.5 McFarland of each of the obtained isolate was carried out on Mueller Hinton agar using the disc diffusion method. Results showed that the percentage occurrence was E. coli (98%), Salmonella spp. (26%) and Shigella spp. (98%). E. coli isolates were 100% resistant to cefixime while Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. were 100% resistant to cefuroxime. Furthermore, the different strains of isolates phenotypically exhibited multidrug resistance, with E. coli having the highest multidrug resistance of 73.33% to the combinations of cefuroxime, cefixime, ceftazidime, augmentin, and nitrofurantoin. It is suggested that if adequate process treatment is given to packaged water, during production and the microbial quality kept within the World Health Organization (WHO) and Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) standards, the presence of these bacterial pathogens, as well as their antibiotic resistant and multi-drug resistant forms would be eliminated in the water, hence, would make the drinking water safe for public consumption.