Abstract

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This study investigated the incidence of multiple antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria isolated from drinking water sources in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Fifty samples of drinking water from wells, boreholes, streams, sachet and bottled water were randomly collected from Ado-Ekiti metropolis, Nigeria for microbiological analyses. Isolation, identification, antibiotic sensitivity testing of Gram-negative bacteria were carried out using standard methods. The mean total viable and coliform counts of water samples were considerably high. A total of eighty-two (82) Gram-negative bacteria comprising Klebsiella spp, Pseuddmonas spp, Proteus spp, Shigella Spp, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp, Alcaligens spp and Citobacter spp were isolated. The percentage resistance of the isolates to the antibiotics ranged from 0.6%, in ofloxacin and gentamicin, to 31.5%, in amoxicillin with multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) to 3 to 6 classes of antibiotics. Fifteen MAR Gram-negative bacteria examined for the presence of plasmid revealed that all except Klebsiella sp, haboured a conjugative plasmid of >lKb. The investigation on the incidence of water-borne diseases in Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria revealed that 26.2% respondents claimed to have experienced water-borne diseases in the last three years which is statistically significant (p-value = 0.00). Therefore, adequate drinking water sanitation and disinfection program must be put in place to ensure safety against water borne antibiotic-resistant pathogens in Ekiti state and by extension Nigeria.

Keywords: Drinking water sources, Gram-negative bacteria, Multiple antibiotic-resistance, Plasmid, Water-borne diseases