Prevalance and antibiogram of <i>e. coli</i> species isolated from Zobo drink commercially available in university of Nigeria Nsukka campus

Abstract

This study was designed to investigate the prevalence and antibiogram of E. coli isolates from Zobo drinks commercially available at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). E. coli species were isolated from Zobo drink using standard microbiological techniques which included, culturing,  biochemical and sugar fermentation tests. A total of 58 isolates of E. coli species were studied from 125 samples. All the screened drink samples had  varying levels of bacterial contamination ranging from 1.2 x 102 to 1.2 x 106 CFU/ml for a total viable count. About 46% of the total sampled drinks had bacterial count above the acceptable limit (< 104CFU/ml). Susceptibility of isolated E. coli to various classes of antibiotics was determined by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Cefoxitin [70%], ciprofloxacin [60%] and tetracycline [66%] were most effective against isolated E. coli species. However, vancomycin, erythromycin and amoxicillin showed varying degrees of susceptibility to the tested organisms. The large number of E. coli isolates obtained in this study suggests poor hygiene in the production and handling of Zobo drinks in the university, which makes drinking Zobo a potential pathway for transmitting food borne illnesses . The development and adoption of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) including preservation and packaging will assist in addressing this problem.

Keywords: E. coli; Zobo drink; prevalence, antibiotic susceptibility.