Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli in Healthy Male and Female Students in Yaba College of Technology Lagos Nigeria

Abstract

A study was conducted at the Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State, Nigeria to determine the prevalence of antibiotic resistant strains of selected microorganisms in healthy male and female students. 75 stool samples were collected and investigated for the presence of Escherichia coli using standard microbiological methods. 35 E.coli isolates were obtained. 18(51.4%) were from females while 17(48.6%) were from males. The E.coli isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test. Results obtained showed that, marked resistance was observed for Septrin, Chloramphenicol, Ciprofloxacin, Augmentin, Amoxacillin and Gentamicin respectively. Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index indicated that two of the isolates obtained from the male population were resistant to all the test antibiotics used.  The prevalence of antimicrobial resistant E.coli in the female population was significantly lower than that obtained in the male population.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance, Escherichia coli, healthy population, multiple antibiotic resistance index