Distribution pattern of enteric organisms in the Lagos Lagoon, Nigeria

Abstract

A wide range of organisms was encountered in the 24 sampled sites of the Lagos Lagoon. The enteric gram-negative shortrods, Lactose fermenting organisms such as Klebsiella spp, Enterobacter spp and Escherichia coli were prevalent in most of the Lagoon sites studied. The in vitro antibiotic sensitivity profile of the isolates revealed that high proportion of the bacteria isolate showed multiple antibiotic resistance. This is epidemiologically significant in the event of human infections. Since these organisms are widely distributed in the surface water they are likely to contaminate marine organisms which if consumed by people in the area may result in disease spread which could also be complicated by the antibiotic resistant nature of the organisms involved.

Keywords: distribution, enteric, Lagoon, Lagos, organisms, pattern

African Journal of Biomedical Research Vol. 8(3) 2005: 163-168