3^rd Global Microbiologists Annual Meeting

Biography

Biography: Enem Simon Ikechukwu

Abstract

The major natural reservoir of shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli (E.coli) is cattle. Man gets infected by the consumption of contaminated cattle meat and meat products. Shiga toxin producing Escherichia coli O157 is a major cause of haemolytic colitis (HC) and haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS) in humans. The cross sectional epidemiologic method was used in this study. Human samples were collected from sick hospital patients, apparently healthy high risk individuals (abattoir workers, cattle herdsmen, milk hawkers) and from members of the public. Freshly voided faeces were collected from cattle in selected abattoirs and cattle herds. The samples were subjected to an enrichment culture and analyzed both bacteriologically and biochemically to confirm typical Escherichia coli which were then sub-cultured into plates of cefixine- tellurite sorbitol McConkey (CT- SMAC) agar. The non sorbitol fermenters stored in nutrient agar slants were further characterized using commercially procured latex agglutination test kits. A total of 572 human samples were tested for the presence of shigatoxin producing E. coli and 6 (1.05%) was positive. Of the 718 faecal samples from cattle tested, 17 were positive. The antibiogram of the isolates to some commonly used antibiotics were tested. Ten isolates from cattle were tested and found to be sensitive to levofloxacin, streptomycin, chlorampheicol and ciprofloxacin but resistant to erythromycin, gentamycin, augumentin, tetracycline, cotrimaxazole and cloxacillin. Five shigatoxin producing E. coli O157 isolated from humans were sensitive to levoflaxacin and ciprofloxacin and resistant to the rest. The study indicated that both cattle and man within the same environment harbour shigatoxin producing E. coli O157 proving that cattle play a major role as source of transmission of multi drug resistant shigatoxin producing E. coli O157 to humans in Abuja, FCT