Antibiotic sensitivity of true and opportunistic pathogens in dental unit water lines

Abstract

A total of 38 water samples were obtained from the dental unit water lines in three(3) hospital/clinics within Zaria, Nigeria viz: The Kaduna State Dental Clinic, Tudun Wada, University Health Services (Sick Bay), A.B.U. Zaria, Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Shika, Nigeria and assessed for true and opportunistic pathogens. Sixteen (16) bacterial isolates consisting of five isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and 11 isolates of Klebsiella pneumoniae were recovered. The antibiotic susceptibility profile of K. pneumoniae showed that it was susceptible to gentamicin and nalidixic acid but resistant to tetracycline, streptomycin ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, colistin and nitrofuratoin. Ps.aeruginosa was susceptible to gentamicin and colistin and resistant to streptomycin, ampicillin, nalidixic acid, cotrimoxazole and nitrofuratoin. These true and opportunistic pathogens may pose a health risk to the immuno- comprised patients visiting the dental clinic for surgery and other dental procedures.