Antibiotic Resistance Profile Studies of Bacteria from water in Excavated Ponds in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Nigeria

The Antibiotic Resistance profile of bacteria isolated from water from two excavated (undeveloped
and developed) ponds in the Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria was investigated using
standard microbiological techniques. The developed pond is in a recreational facility called the
Pleasure Park. The undeveloped pond is in a densely populated built up area with limited amenities.
Water samples from the undeveloped pond revealed the following bacterial species Escherichia coli,
Staphylococcus spp.; Shigella spp.; Klebsiella spp.; Vibrio spp. and Salmonella spp. The total
culturable heterotrophic bacterial count (TCHB) and fecal coliform count of the water samples from
the undeveloped pond ranged from 1.02 x 106 – 1.90 x 106cfu/ml and 3.70 x 105 – 8.15 x 105cfu/ml,
respectively. The bacteriological (TCHB) load of water samples from the developed pond ranged from
6.9 x 105cfu/ml − 2.1 x 106cfu/ml while the fecal coliform count ranged from 3.4 x 105 − 1.3 x
106cfu/ml. Bacterial species identified in the developed pond included Escherichia coli, Salmonella
spp., Proteus spp., Citrobacter spp., Klebsiella spp, Bacillus spp., Serratia spp., Pseudomonas spp.,
Vibrio spp., Enterobacter spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus spp., and Staphylococcus spp.
The sensitivity of the isolates from the water samples to 12 different antibiotics selected was
ascertained on Muller-Hinton agar using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. The zone diameter
obtained was interpreted using the Clinical Laboratory Standard International (CLSI) and British
Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) zone diameter breakpoints. The level of resistance
exhibited by the isolates from the undeveloped pond, to specific antibiotics used were; Lincocin
74.8%, Rifampicin 71.4%, Augumentin 71.2%, Chloramphnicol 68.2%, Erythromycin 64.3%,
Cotrimoxazole 55.8%, Streptomycin 50.2%, Pefloxacin 48.6%, Gentamycin 43%, Norfloxacin 42.9%,
Ofloxacin 16.2%, Ciprofloxacin 13%. The resistance to Lincocin (74.8%) was the highest followed by
Rifampicin (71.4%). The highest level of bacterial resistance pattern to all tested antibiotics was
observed in sites with highest human activities. The result showed multiple antibiotic resistance
patterns among the bacterial isolates suggesting a pool of resistance genes among isolates in the
pond. Most of the bacterial isolates are potential pathogens. Isolates from the developed pond
showed varying levels of resistance against 14 antibiotics tested, with the highest resistance noted
against Pefloxacin (55.9%) while the lowest resistance was against Erythromycin (2.9%). An
assessment of MDR (resistance to 3 or more antibiotic classes) showed a 38.2% rate of multidrug
resistance. There is need for Conceptual Risk Models (CRM) and drug resistance mapping in
handling the incidence of drug resistance in target communities as part of health management in
developing countries.