The Public Health Importance of the Association between Componotus Consobrinus and Potential Bacterial Pathogens in Human Dwellings

Abstract

Camponotus consobrinus, the banded sugar ant is so called because of its liking for sweet food. This study was carried out to determine the association between Camponotus consobrinus and potential bacterial pathogens in human dwellings and their public health importance. The ants were purposively collected from four locations; kitchens, bed rooms of various homes, shops and bakeries. Out of the 250 Camponotus consobrinus caught for the study, 90(36.0%) were caught in the kitchen, 75(30.0%) in the bed rooms 40(16.0%) in the bakery while 45(18.0%) were caught in the shops. A prevalence of 82.0% microbial isolates was recorded in the study. The kitchen had the highest number of isolates 75(36.6%) followed by the bed room 55(26.8%) while the bakery recorded the lowest number of isolates 35(17.1%). Escherichia coli was the most common isolate 73(30.0%), followed by Morganella morganii 45(18.0%) while Serratia marcescens and Citrobacter freundii were the lowest common isolates 10(4.0%) each. Most of the Compnotous consobrinus examined in the four locations harboured potential pathogens. The presence of ants in homes and shops may lead to the spread of pathogenic microorganisms. Therefore, the control of ants in human dwellings must be taken seriously.

A study on the potential of ants to act as vectors of foodborne pathogens

“…Other studies similarly identified fecal coliforms such as Enterobacter , Escherichia and Klebsiella spp., as well as pathogenic bacteria S. aureus on ants [32],[33]. Ogba et al [15] isolated a total of 205 species from Banded sugar ants ( Camponotus consobrinus ) and determined E. coli (fecal indicator bacteria; 30%) to be the most common isolate, followed by Morganella morganii (histamine-forming bacteria, 18%), Serratia marcescens (opportunistic pathogen, 4%) and Citrobacter freundii (coliform, 4%). Rodovalho et al [18] also isolated gram-negative bacilli at a carriage rate of 16.7% from ants ( Tapinoma melanocephalum and Camponotus vittatus ) and concluded that these insects may be responsible for carrying as well as distributing gram-negative bacilli in the hospital environment.…”

“…Microbiological tests were carried out in order to identify any pathogenic microorganisms found on ants commonly present in domestic kitchens. The method of capturing and microbiologically analyzing ants was adapted from Maximo et al [14] and Ogba et al [15] respectively. Briefly, 50-ml centrifuge tubes, each containing 10 g of sugar, were heat-sterilized to act as baits.…”

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicine) as Carriers of Microorganisms Indicating Hygienic and Sanitary Conditions in Urban Schools

“…Ants of the genus Camponotus occur in environments with structural flaws due to poor conservation of buildings. In the interior of buildings, ants of this genus are attracted to places with foods (Baccaro et al 2015, Ogba et al 2017, such as kitchens, canteens and places with the presence of residues. They can act as carriers of microorganisms such as Enterococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp.…”