Isolation of Escherichia coli 0157:H7 from selected food samples sold in local markets in Nigeria

Abstract

Food borne illnesses have major social and economic impacts. Escherichia coli O157:H7 is associated with food borne illness in human beings. It has been an important food borne pathogen that causes food borne diseases such as diarrhea, hemolytic uremic syndrome and hemorrhagic colitis. This study was conducted to detect the presence of E. coli O157: H7 in different food samples sold in Nigerian local markets. A total of 60 different food samples (3 each of meat, fufu, waterleaf, pumpkin, carrot, tomatoes, meat pie, yoghurt, watermelon, cucumber, groundnut, cabbage, garden egg, bread, okra, apple, chicken, unpasteurized milk, salad and pawpaw) were collected randomly from different markets in Calabar, Nigeria. The samples were analyzed using standard microbiological techniques. Isolation was carried out using pour plate technique on sorbitol MacConkey agar. The isolates were identified by morphological and biochemical tests. Out of the 60 samples investigated, 36 (60%) were found to be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 while 24 (40%) were negative by conventional methods. All the isolates obtained from the samples were subjected to various biochemical tests and were all confirmed to be E. coli O157:H7. The occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 serotype in these food products indicates that there may be a potential risk for public health from consuming these foods. This study clearly indicated the need for proper handling and processing of food products especially ready to eat food products. It is also important that at household level proper hygienic measures should be taken to avoid cross contamination.

Escherichia coli O157:H7 beef carcass contamination and its antibiotic resistance in Awi Zone, Northwest Ethiopia

“…In Africa, 35.1% of occurrences were reported in South Africa (Onyeka et al, 2021 ). Moreover, reported in the world were included 21.23% in Iran (Momtaz & Jamshidi, 2013 ), 22% (Vinothkumar et al, 2014 ) and 25.46% (Vijayan et al, 2017 ) in India, and 60% in Nigeria (Lennox et al, 2020 ). Overall variations in the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 might be due to the difference in sample size, sampling techniques, and study area difference.…”

Integrating climate change, food safety, nutrition, and health outcomes in food systems policies and programs in Africa

“…Iwu et al (2021) investigated the frequency of E. coli O157:H7 in agricultural soil and irrigation water in South Africa, identifying the presence of Shiga toxigenic food‐related diseases in humans due to the use of animal feces as manure. Asime et al (2020) conducted a similar study in Nigerian local markets and discovered a 60% occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 in food products, including fresh beef and immediate meat‐eating products (Fayemi et al, 2021). Additionally, E. coli was found on leafy vegetables among farming households in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa (Ali et al, 2023), as well as in cattle, beef, and humans in Central Ethiopia (Gutema et al, 2021).…”

Foodborne Diseases and Intoxication in Nigeria: Prevalence of Escherichia coli 0157:H7, Salmonella, Shigella and Staphylococcus aureus

“…The authors used standard cultural and serological methods to identify and confirm the presence of the organisms. In an extensive research by [32] on the occurrence of E. coli 0157:H7 in selected food samples sold in local markets in Nigeria, it is of a huge concern that 36(60%) E. coli 0157:H7 were isolated from 60 different food samples examined; 3 each of meat pie, yoghurt, watermelon, groundnuts, cabbage, cucumber, garden egg, bread, chicken, apple, salad, unpasteurized milk and pawpaw. This result indicates that public health is not secure in consuming these contaminated foods.…”