International Journal of Microbiology and Immunology Research Vol. 2(5), pp. 071-074, August 2014 ISSN 2327-7769 ©2014 Academe Research Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Isolation, antibiogram and haemolytic activity of Aeromonas hydrophila from goat

Iroha Ifeanyichukwu¹, Ejikeugwu Chika²* and Nwakaeze Emmanuel¹

¹Department of Applied Microbiology, Ebonyi State University, P.M.B 053, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

²Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, P.M.B 5025, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: ejikeugwu_chika@yahoo.com. Tel: +2348097684562.

Accepted 1 August, 2014

Abstract

Aeromonas hydrophila are ubiquitous in the soil and water. Though most species of the genus Aeromonas are apathogenic and may only exhibit very low pathogenicity in terms of human infections, some (especially A. hydrophila) are important human pathogens in that they cause a number of gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal infections in man. A. hydrophila in particular cause acute diarrheal disease that is similar to cholera in humans. Septicaemia, bacteraemia and meningitis are other clinical conditions associated with A. hydrophila in man. Domestic animals (for example, goat) that feed on waste matters and dirty water in the environment are prone to an infection with A. hydrophila, and these animals can transfer the pathogen to humans either indirectly or by direct contact with infected goats. In this study, rectal swabs (n=50) were obtained from locally breed goats in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The rectal swabs were analyzed microbiologically for the presence of A. hydrophila using alkaline peptone water (pH 6.8), blood agar, MacConkey agar medium and thiosulphate-citrate bile salt (TCBS) agar, and all suspected isolates were tested for susceptibility to chloramphenicol, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and ceftazidime, then were confirmed using standard microbiological identification techniques. Overall, 24 isolates of A. hydrophila (48%) was isolated from the 50 rectal swabs analyzed. Only 16 isolates showed haemolytic appearance on blood agar. However, they were all resistant to the tested antibiotics except for ceftazidime that inhibited 23 out of the 24 A. hydrophila isolates analyzed. The presence of resistant A. hydrophila in goats portends a public health issue to humans that come in contact with these animals directly or indirectly. Thus it is vital for the general public to observe strict personal hygiene after coming in contact with goats, and animal farmers should control their goats for them not to wander away to feed on garbage and waste water in the environment.

Key words: Aeromonas hydrophila, antimicrobial susceptibility, haemolysis, Nigeria.