Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Bacteria Isolated from Stored Water in Some Residential Homes

The right to water is a basic human right, but if the water is contaminated with microbes, it defeats the purpose of providing safe water and good health. Containers used to store water at home can be sources of microorganism. This study assesses the bacterial pollution of stored water in different homes and the antimicrobial pattern of the bacterial isolates. About 30 samples comprising of 15 storage water cans and 15 swabs from respective storage cans in 5 different homes were used in this study. Spread plate technique was used to enumerate the microbial distribution. Biochemical tests were also conducted to confirm the presence of microorganisms. The total heterotrophic bacterial count ranged between 1.4x106 to 1.55x107CFU/ml, total coliform count ranged between 0.00 ×103 to 2.0×105 CFU/ml, total fungal count ranged between 1.0×103 to 8.0×104 CFU/ml. The nine bacterial isolates from water samples belonged to Staphylococcus sp, Micrococcus sp, Proteus sp, Bacillus sp, Klebsiella sp, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, Enterobacter sp, and Shigella sp. The frequency occurrences of the isolates were 11.5%, 7.6%, 11.5%, 19.2%, 7.6%, 7.6%, 3.8%, 19.2% and 11.5% respectively. The 8 bacterial isolates from swab samples belonged to Bacillus sp, Staphylococcus sp, Shigella sp, Vibro sp, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp, Enterobacter sp and Aeromonas sp. The frequency occurrences of the isolates were 19.2%, 19.2%, 11.5%, 7.6%, 19.2%, 11.5%, 7.6% and 3.8% respectively. The presence of Klebsiella sp., Proteus sp, Enterobacter sp. and S. aureus in the water source have been known to cause diverse disease on human beings, such as skin infections, wound infections, urinary tract infections, gastroenteritis and respiratory tract infections, therefore there is need for regular washing of water containers used for water storage. The antibiogram showed that ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin and gentamicin are the most effective antibiotics, thus, they are recommended for treatment of infections.