Antibiogram of food-borne pathogens secluded from ready foods and Zobo Drinks Sold in Nigeria

Abstract

Food poisoning (food-borne disease) is an infection that occurs after consuming food contaminated by 
sufficient numbers of viable pathogens and their toxins. It is a common and costly preventable infection 
that is of public health concern, and which is treated with available antibiotics. Jellof-rice, abacha, moi
moi and zobo drinks are some ready-to-eat foods sold within the PRESCO campus of Ebonyi State 
University (EBSU), Abakaliki, Nigeria. These foods are commonly patronized by students and other 
unsuspecting visitors in this region, and they have been implicated in a handful of bacterial related 
infections in recent times. Random samples of the food items were collected from shops selling them, 
and these were analyzed microbiologically to determine the most prevalent organisms. Suspect isolates 
were identified and tested for antibiotic susceptibility profiles. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae 
and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were the commonest microbes isolated, and these showed varying rates 
of resistance and susceptibility to the tested drugs. Clindamycin, ampicillin and ofloxacin were less 
effective against the test organisms while gentamicin, erythromycin and ciprofloxacin showed 
substantial activity. The findings in this study showed that some ready-to-eat foods and zobo drinks 
sold within PRESCO campus of EBSU, Abakaliki, Nigeria were considerably contaminated with resistant 
pathogenic bacteria, hence, the need for constant monitoring of ready-to-eat foods in order to prevent 
the outbreak of food-borne illnesses in this region.