THE OCCURRENCE, MOLECULAR IDENTIFICATION AND ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANCE PATTERN OF FAECAL BACTERIA IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE WELLS IN PAIKO, NIGER STATE

Abstract

ABSTRACT Well water has become a main source of water supply for both drinking and domestic use in many rural and urban areas in Nigeria due to inadequate provision of potable pipe-borne water. This study identified the occurrence of faecal bacteria and their antibiotic resistance pattern in different public and private wells of Paiko, Niger State. Sixty (60) water samples were collected and used for this study and it comprises of 32 private wells and 28 public wells. The water samples were inoculated on Eosin Methylene Blue (EMB) agar using pour plate methods for faecal bacteria isolation. The result of the molecular identification of the bacteria isolates and their percentage identity revealed the presence of E. coli, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Citrobacter cronae. The frequency of occurrence of the bacteria are Klebsiella pneumoniae 22 (33.8%), Enterobacter aerogenes 18 (27.7%), E. coli 14 (21.5%), and Citrobacter cronae 11 (16.9%). Antibiotic susceptibility test showed a high susceptibility of the bacteria to meropenem 65 (100%), ciprofloxacin 65 (100%), trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole 64 (98.5%) and streptomycin 62(95.4%). While a significant level of resistance was observed with cephalexin 35 (53.8%) a class of cephalosporin antibiotics. The physicochemical parameters of this study were significantly different at the 5% level (p>0.05) from the required permissible limit of World Health Organization (WHO) and Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) for potable water. Sensitization of the public on how to situate wells and its proper maintenance would reduce the risk of major water borne pathogens to public health.