Background: Enterococcu has continued to attract considerable importance and attention as pathogens of public health concern in both environmental and hospital settings, which has made epidemiological studies of the organisms a major interest in research. Enterococci are opportunistic pathogens that cause a variety of infections in men. The aim of the study was to isolate and determine the antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Enterococcu species in fast food outlets within the Lagos metropolis.
Methods: Enterococci were isolated from food samples and culture was performed by emulsifying the bacterial colonies on agar plates followed by incubation for 24 hours at 32ᵒC. Enterococci were identified by the morphological appearance on selective media, and biochemical tests such as catalase, oxidase, indole, urease activity, hydrogen sulphide production, nitrate reduction, citrate utilization, and so on, were performed. Antibiotic susceptibility of the Enterococcu isolates was determined using the disc diffusion method. Sixty samples from different areas within the Ojo metropolis of Lagos State were examined for the presence of Enterococci.
Results: Out of the samples, 28 (47.6%) were positive for Enterococci. Of all 28 strains of Enterococci isolated, Enterococcu faecalis was the most predominant (67.9%) which was isolated from palms of food handlers, followed by Enterococcu gallinarium (21.4%) which was isolated from food while Enterococcu faecium (10.7%) was isolated from table tops. This study revealed the prevalence of E. faecalis, E. gallinarium, and E. faecium in the fast-food outlets in Ojo, Lagos State, Nigeria. Antibiotic susceptibility analysis showed that the isolates were susceptible to Amoxicillin (100%), and were highly susceptible to Augmentin (92.9%), Erythromycin (92.9%), and Chloramphenicol (92.9%), showed moderate susceptibility to Gentamycin (85.7%), Cotrimoxazole (89.3%), and Cloxacillin (82.1%) but developed highest resistance to Tetracycline (64.3%). This is an indication that Amoxicillin is the most efficacious antibiotic.
Conclusion: The study has revealed that food samples from a number of food outlets in Ojo, Lagos State, Nigeria, were contaminated with Enterococci, suggesting a possible reservoir of the organism. There is a need for periodic and instant epidemiological evaluation and enforcement of very good hygienic practices especially in the area that has been studied. A high preponderance of Enterococci as contaminants of ready-to-eat food was recorded, which also showed a high level of multiple drug resistance, thus, constituting a threat to public health.
Key words: Antibiotic Susceptibility, Enterococcus, Fast food, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Enterococcus gallinarium
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