Isolation and Identification of Antibiotic-Susceptible Bacteria from Abattoir Effluent in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abattoir environment can become a significant reservoir for antibiotic resistance bacteria, particularly in abattoirs that do not treat their waste before discharge. This study seeks to verify the antibiotics susceptibility profile of bacteria isolated from abattoir wastewater in Port Harcourt, River State, Nigeria. The bacteria were isolated from the wastewater using a standard plating technique. The antibiotics sensitivity pattern of all bacterial isolates was determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Isolates with high multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index (≥0.5) were screened for genes for pathogenicity (icaC, adhesion gene) and antibiotic resistance (QnrA gene). The abattoir wastewaters were contaminated by bacteria resistant to no less than two of the antibiotics experimented with (MAR index range, 0.2-1.0). The isolates were identified as Acinetobacter brisouii, Bacillus altitudinis, Bacillus stratosphericus and Priestia flexa. Among these isolates, 2(50.0%) harboured the QnrA gene while 3(75.0%) harboured the icaC gene. The findings underscore the importance of abattoir wastewater as an environmental flashpoint for antibiotic resistance. Detection of bacteria with multiple antibiotic resistance in abattoir wastewater would inform cautious use of antibiotics, to check the spread of antibiotic resistance emanating from this source.