Abstract
Food vendors are important in every socio-economic sector in developing countries, providing ready-to-eat food to the populace and in the process, they transmit pathogenic organisms to the food being sold. However, a very important but neglected source of these pathogenic bacteria is the phone handled by the food vendors.
This study is aimed to ascertain if the phone handled by the food vendor could be a potential source of dissemination pathogenic bacteria to the vended food been sold.
Sample of five food types from eateries in five different locations were obtained within Lagos environ and the locations were grouped into hygienic and unhygienic areas based on the parameters used in this study. Phone swabs were obtained from the phones used by the food handlers where the food samples were obtained. The food and the phone swabs were analyzed bacteriologically using standard methods. Viable counts were also obtained using standard procedures. The isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by standard
The total plate count of bacteria obtained from food samples ranged from 3.8x103cfu/g in rice to >300cfu/g in spaghetti. A total of six different bacterial agents identified as E.coli, Klebsiella spp, Enterobacter spp, Salmonella spp, Proteus spp and Shigella spp were observed in the phone and food samples analyzed. In general, eleven and twelve bacterial isolates were identified on phone and food samples analyzed. The most occurring isolates on phone samples was Proteus spp (27%) and E.coli (27%) while the most occurring isolate on phone was Klebsiella spp (33.3%). All isolates were resistant to Septrin, Amoxicillin, Augmentin and Streptomycin. However, 75% of the food isolates were susceptible to Ciproflaxcin while 81.7% of the isolates from phone samples were susceptible to Ciprofloxacin.
The most frequently occurring multidrug resistance pattern is Sxt Ctl Sp Am Au Gn Pef Ofx S with a total of 8 bacterial isolates showing this resistance pattern.
The study revealed that there was cross-contamination between phone handled by the food vendors and the vended food sold.
Table of contents
Title page
Certification i
Dedication ii
Acknowledgement iii
Table of content iv-v
Abstract vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1 Introduction and Literature Review 1-10
1.2 Statement of problem 11
1.3 Aim and objective 12
CHAPTER TWO: MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1 Scope of study 13
2.2 Sample collection 13
2.3 Sample storage 14
2.4 Sterilization od equipment 14
2.5 Collection of vended food samples 15
2.6 Collection of phone swab samples from food vendors 15
2.7 Bacteriological analysis 16
2.7.1 Viable count 16
2.8 Bacterial identification 16
2.8.1 Gram staining 17
2.8.2 Catalase test 17
2.8.3Oxidase test 17
2.8.3 Citrate utilization 18
2..8.4 Triple sugar iron 18
2.8.5 Motility test 18
2.9 Antimicrobial susceptibility test 19
2.9.1 Standardization of inoculum 19
2.9.2 Susceptibility testing of isolates to different antibiotics 19
CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS
Results 20-31
CHAPTER 3: DISCUSSIONS
Discussion 32-38
Conclusion 39
Recommendation 40
References 41-45
Appendix 46-49
