Pattern of Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli from Healthy Adults in Amassoma, South-South Nigeria

Aim: To investigate the antimicrobial resistance profile of faecal Escherichia coli to common antimicrobial agents in healthy adults in Amassoma, South Southern Nigeria.
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Place and Duration of Study: Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, Niger Delta University, Bayelsa State, between February and June 2010.
Methodology: The stool samples collected were inoculated and screened for E. coli using standard microbiological protocols. The antimicrobial susceptibility test of the isolates was done using disc diffusion technique.
Results: A total of 110 (84.6%) E. coli isolates were obtained from all the samples comprising 38 (34.5%) from the villagers and 72 (65.5%) from the University students. The overall resistance profiles of all the isolates were: ampicillin-95.5%, tetracycline-72.7%, augmentin-70.9%, co-trimoxazole-54.5%, cefuroxime-44.5%, chloramphenicol-39.1%, nalidixic acid-30.0%, nitrofurantoin-28.2%, ceftazidime-15.5%, ciprofloxacin-14.5%, gentamicin-10.0% and ofloxacin-4.5%. The isolates from the villagers exhibited significantly higher resistances to some of the antibiotics than those from the students (P<0.05). The prevalence of multiple drug resistance among all the isolates was 76 (69.1%).
Conclusion: The observed high level of multiple drug resistance among the flora of healthy individuals call for measures to control the sales of antimicrobial agents in this country as a strategy toward the containment of antibiotic resistance.