Phenotypic Characterization and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Salmonella Species to Selected Antibiotics in Bauchi State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The study investigated phenotypic characterization and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of salmonella species to selected antibiotics in Bauchi State, Nigeria. This study was carried out in Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH), Infectious Disease Hospital Bayara (IDH), and Specialist Hospital Bauchi (SHB) in Bauchi State. A simple random sampling technique was employed in the collection of the sample. A total of 200 samples were collected, comprising of stool and blood samples from patients visiting the three facilities selected for the study. 100 samples from the Infectious Disease Hospital and 50 each from ATBUTH and Specialist Hospital Bauchi. The research reported the presence of Salmonella species with an overall prevalence of 5.5% in blood and stool samples from Bauchi state; the work has reported that there are Salmonella spp resistant to commonly used antibiotics and pose considerable health hazards unless prudent control measures are instituted. This could be due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in those areas, the use of substandard antibiotics or improper storage of antibiotics (as this could affect the potency of the drugs). However, the study showed that the Salmonella spp isolated was 95% sensitive to ciprofloxacin. Many alternative diagnostic tools for typhoid fever have been developed to utilize antibody-based methods. However, there are limitations with this method, such as the complication of having false-positive due to prior exposure to the antigen. Thus, there is a need for the development of antigen-based detection of pathogens.