Antibiogram of Staphylococcus Species Isolated from Some Abattoirs in Rivers State, Nigeria

Foodborne contamination especially by Staphylococcus species is of concern as many isolates of the genus have been reported for their multidrugs resistance. The study was aimed at determining the antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus species isolated from abattoir. A total of 100 samples were collected from five different surfaces; bucket swab, butchers hand swab, table swab, knife swab and meat swab from four abattoirs in of Rivers State, Nigeria. The samples were transported aseptically to laboratory for immediate analysis. The samples were cultured on mannitol agar (MSA) using standard microbiology technique to isolate Staphylococcus species. Hemolysis test was carried out and susceptibilities of isolates against a panel of 10 antibiotics were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method, and the multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of the isolates were determined. Out of the 43 isolates of Staphylococcus from the abattoirs, 51.1% were coagulase positive while 48.9% were coagulase negative. 18.6% of the Staphylococcus species produced beta hemolysis and 16.28% showed alpha hemolytic activity. Staphylococcus species produced resistance to amoxicillin (88.4%), zinnacef (88.4%), ampiclox (88.4%), receptrin (60.5%), streptomycin (37.2%), septrin (37.2%), erythromycin (34.5%), and gentamicin (39.5%), ciprofloxacin (20.9%) and perfloxacin (16.8%). The multidrug resistance index (MAR index) showed that 2.35% of the isolates showed complete resistance to all the 10 antibiotics tested with MAR index of 1, 4.6% recorded MAR index of 0.1, 4.6% recorded MAR index of 0.2. Majority of the isolates of Staphylococcus species associated with meat and materials or equipment (such as bucket, knife) used in abattoir and the hands of butcher are multidrug resistance and is of great medical concern hence there is need to regulate the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.