Bacteriological Quality and Antibiogram of Isolates Obtained from Creek Town River, Odukpani L.G.A., Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The bacteriological quality and antibiogram of isolates from Creek Town River were investigated to determine the quality of the river water and sensitivity patterns of the bacterial isolates. The bacteriological assessment was studied using pour plate and membrane filtration techniques. There was significant difference (P=.05) in total heterotrophic bacterial count, E. coli and coliform counts. The total heterotrophic bacterial and total coliform counts were shown to be highest in the CTR3 (8.0x106cfu/ml) and CTR2 (3.0x105cfu/ml). The total E. coli counts ranged from 1.5x102cfu/ml to 5.8x102cfu/ml. Bacterial counts were higher than the acceptable limit of the WHO standards. The bacteria isolated and characterized included eleven (11) bacterial genera: Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., Enterobacter faecalis, Streptococcus spp., Salmonella spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus spp., Shigella spp. and Citrobacter spp. Out of these organisms, Ent. faecalis, Staph. aureus, Klebsiella spp., E. coli and Proteus spp. are the most prevalent (100%) in the samples. The antibiogram result indicated that there was significant statistical variation (P=0.05) in the sensitivity profile of the test organisms to antibiotics. Moreover, E. coli and Proteus spp had the highest sensitivity of 90% while S. aureus had the lowest sensitivity of 30%.  Result also revealed that chloramphenicol was the most effective antibiotic with 100% sensitivity, and there was significant difference (P=.05) in the effective of each antibiotic against test organisms. These findings indicated that the water from Creek Town River was not suitable for direct human consumption and it poses a serious threat to the health of the consumers. Water treatment is therefore recommended before it can be used for domestic purposes.