Assessment of Microbial Load and Multidrug-Resistant Profile of Bacterial Flora from Cattle in Bauchi, Nigeria

Aim: The study aimed to assess the bacterial load of in rectal swabs from cattle by isolating Enterococcus spp and Escherichia coli, and determining the multidrug-resistant pattern of the isolates.

Study Design: The study is a clinical-veterinary laboratory investigation involving the isolation and determination of the multidrug-resistant (MDR) profile of Enterococcus spp and E. coli isolated from cattle rectal.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was carried out in the Yelwa and Gubi campuses Farm centers of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU), Bauchi, Nigeria, in period extended from April to June 2021.

Methodology: Fresh rectal swab samples were collected from the randomly selected cattle and labeled. The samples were immediately transported and processed in the Microbiology laboratory at Yelwa Campus, and the bacterial load of each sample was determined using standard techniques. Enterococcus spp and E. coli were isolated using differential culture media followed by an appropriate biochemical identification test. The isolates were subjected to the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method, to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility pattern.

Results: In Yelwa, the highest microbial load is 2.7 x 1012 CFU/g. while the lowest microbial load is 2.0 x 1012 CFU/g. In the Gubi campus, the highest microbial load is 3.4 x 1012 CFU/g. while the lowest microbial load is 2.7 x 1012 CFU/g. Both in Yelwa and Gubi ,the result showed that most isolates of Enterococcus spp and E. coli are multidrug-resistant. In Yalwa some of the isolates showed 100% resistance against Norfloxacin, Rifampicin, Ampicillin, and Streptomycin, while Gentamycin gave the lowest multidrug resistance (57.4%). In Gubi, the highest was to ampicillin with (90.6%) frequency, while the lowest resistance was found in Chloramphenicol (11.3%). In Yelwa, a high percentage resistance (92.6%) was observed in Streptomycin, and Cephalexin has the lowest (20.4%). In Gubi, all the E. coli isolates had 100% resistance against sulfamethoxazole, and the lowest was in Ofloxacin (43.4%).

Conclusion: This study found that cattle in the area are reservoirs of bacteria that are both part of the normal flora and opportunistic pathogens, and harbored resistance phenotypes. It is therefore advocated that the use of these animals’ faeces as manure should be done with caution, particularly after pre-treatments.