Bacterial Aetiological Agents of Vended Foods in Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria

Aims: Foodborne diseases are multifactorial in origin and are major cause of death worldwide. This study was aimed at detecting the presence of bacterial pathogens in already prepared vended foods in Vom. Methodology and results: Two hundred (200) cooked food (ready-to-eat) samples were subjected to bacteriological examinations using differential, selective and enriched culture media. A total of 228 bacterial isolates were obtained. These includes Aeromonas hydrophila (3)1.5%, Bacillus species (32)16%, Citrobacter freundii (18)9%, Citrobacter braekii (9)4.5%, Citrobacter youngae (1)0.5%, Chryseomonas luteola (1)0.5%, Enterobacter cloacae (28)14%, Escherichia coli (14)7%, Klebsiella pneumoniae (6)3%, Kluyvera species (1)0.5%, Morganella morganii (3)1.5%, Providencia species (4)2%, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5)2.5%, Proteus mirabilis (2)1%, Salmonella species (12)6%, Staphylococcus aureus (34)17%, coagulase negative Staphylococcus (49)24.5%, Streptococcus faecalis (5)2.5% and Vibrio hollisae (1)0.5%, twenty one (21) samples had no bacterial growth. The identification of the Gram-negative organisms were confirmed using API 20E. These isolates were further subjected to antimicrobial sensitivity testing using the Abtex commercial disc. Most isolates were resistant to Amoxycillin, Cloxacillin, Cotrimoxazole and Erythromycin. Ciprofloxacin had about 99% activity against all the isolates. Conclusion: The isolation of bacterial pathogens is indicative of bacterial contamination in vended foods in Vom within the period of the study.