Bacterial status and antibacterial susceptibility profiles of selected pathogens associated with suya meat samples purchased in Bori metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

Ready-to-eat Suya meats were randomly sampled and assessed for bacterial status and antibacterial susceptibility profiles of selected pathogens. Bacteriology of Suya samples and antibacterial susceptibility test were determined using standard microbiological and disc diffusion methods respectively. Aerobic plate counts (APCs) of roasted and vended Suya ranged from 2.4×10⁴-1.39×10⁵ CFU/g whereas total coliform counts (TCCs) ranged from 1.5×10⁴-6.2×10⁴ CFU/g. A total of ten (10) bacterial species were identified including six (6) Gram-positive and four (4) Gram-negative bacteria. The most frequently isolated bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (20%), Escherichia coli and Micrococcus luteus (16%) respectively. Antibacterial susceptibility test results indicated that Ciprofloxacin (29-41mm) and Levofloxacin (29-38mm) demonstrated high level sensitivity and broad spectrum activity on selected pathogens respectively whereas Klebsiella pneumoniae showed high resistance to Ampiclox (0.0mm) and Erythromycin (0.0mm) respectively. The high incidence of bacterial contamination in Suya suggests that they are potential reservoir for possible outbreak of food-borne diseases. Furthermore, proper antibiotic therapy and patient management in cases of consumption of contaminated Suya is hereby seriously advocated.

Keywords: Suya, bacteria, antibacterial, susceptibility, pathogens