Evaluation of antibiotic resistant organisms in locally produced Drinks

Five samples each of zobo, yoghurt and kunu were purchased from different hawkers in Umuahia and Okigwe metropolis in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The microbial qualities were determined according to standard methods. The antibiotic sensitive patterns of the bacterial isolates were also determined. Microbial count ranges from 3.5-8.9cfu/ml in zobo, 2.0-8.0 cfu/ml in yoghurt and 1.8-4.2cfu/ml in kunu. Bacteria isolated from the samples included, Pseudomonas species, Streptococcus species, Proteus species, Klebsiella species with high occurrence of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Most of the isolates were resistant to Tetracycline, Ampicillin, Gentamicin, Colistin and Cotrimoxazole. The occurrence of antibiotic resistant organisms in these drinks is of public health importance and may be responsible for prolong treatment of illness. Therefore proper quality control of these products should be encouraged so as to reduce the microbial load as well as antibiotic resistant bacteria.