Prevalence and Antibiogram of Bacteria Associated with Mouthpiece of Shisha Equipment in Port Harcourt Metropolis

Shisha smoke is becoming more prominent among adolescent which is known to be carcinogenic posing a serious threat to public health as well as the risk of pathogenic bacteria associated with the mouthpiece. This research is carried out to determine the prevalence and antibiogram of bacteria associated with mouthpiece of shisha equipment in Port Harcourt metropolis. A total of twenty (20) mouthpiece of shisha equipment were swabbed using sterile swab sticks and samples subjected to standard microbiological technique as well as standard plate count, culturing, identification and antibiotic susceptibility pattern using Kirby Bauer Disk diffusion method.  The total heterotrophic bacteria count ranged between 2.0±1.5 ×103 to 6.5±5.3 ×103 CFU/ml) Borokiri township and Ogunabali respectively. The total Staphylococcal count ranged from 1.6±0.5 ×102 CFU/ml to 3.3±0.3 ×102 CFU/ml in Ogunabali township and Borokiri sandfield respectively. A total of fourteen (14) bacteria isolates were identified belonging to the following genera; Staphylococcus spp, Klebsiella spp, Bacillus spp, Pseudomonas spp, Micrococcus spp and Lactobacillus spp. The prevalence of the bacteria indicated that Staphylococcus had the highest occurrence (28.57%), followed by Pseudomonas spp (7.07%), having the least prevalence across the locations. The Antimicrobial sensitivity testing results shows that Staphylococcus spp Bacillus spp and Micrococcus spp was more susceptible to Erythromycin, Gentamicin and Ofloxacin (100%) and resistant to Augmentin, Cefuroxime, Cloxacillin, Cefuroxime and Ceftazidime (100%). Lactobacillus spp, Pseudomonas spp and Klebsiella spp were more susceptible to Ciprofloxacin and Ofloxacin (100%) and resistant to Gentamicin, Nitrofurantoin, Ceftazidime, Cefuroxime, Augmentin and Cefixime (100%). These bacteria isolated are mostly pathogenic and may result in an increase in health issues as a result of non-hygienic protocol used during using mouth to mouth smoking with the shisha equipment. Medical personnel should enlighten the public especially the adolescent about the risks involved in smoking Shisha.