Phenotypic Characterization of Human Pathogenic Bacteria in Fish from the Coastal Waters of South West Cameroon: Public Health Implications

Abstract

Increasing economic and recreational opportunities, attractive scenery and a perception of a better quality of life are luring people to the coast. Unfortunately, these activities together with the commensurate increase in population in the area inevitably result in pollution of coastal waters with excessive microorganisms and other pollutants. Microbial pollutants not only contaminate the coastal water but also aquatic food sources, thus posing a health risk to consumers. Fish is a major source of protein in Cameroon, especially in the coastal areas. In this study, we investigated the microbiological quality of fish from the Limbe and Tiko beaches in South West Cameroon from May to October 2007. We isolated human pathogenic bacteria from three anatomic sites (skin, gills, intestine) of 50 fish (150 specimens) and investigated their susceptibility patterns to a battery of antibiotics. Data were analyzed statistically using chi2 with significance set at p < .05. Eleven bacterial species were identified, including Escherichia coli type 1 (20.8%), Citrobacter fruendii (16.4%), Proteus vulgaris (13%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.1%), Klebsiella ozaenae (7.7%), Enterobacter cloacae (7.2%), Klebsiella oxytoca (5.8%), Serratia marcescens (4.8%), Serratia odorifera (4.8%), Hafnia alvei (4.4%) and Proteus penneri (2.9%). More contaminated fish were found at Limbe beach than at Tiko beach (61.4% versus 38.6%, respectively (p < .05)). When ranking contamination with respect to anatomic site, skin was the most contaminated (40.6%) specimen and gills the least (28.5%). Ciprofloxacillin, ofloxacillin, and cotrimoxazole were the most effective antibiotics against all isolates, exhibiting 100% sensitivity. Almost half of the isolates (45.7%) were resistant to ampicillin. The results of our study demonstrate that fish from the coastal waters of South West Cameroon are a source of human pathogenic and opportunistic bacteria; hence this finding has public health implications.

Foodborne Pathogens Recovered from Ready-to-Eat Foods from Roadside Cafeterias and Retail Outlets in Alice, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa: Public Health Implications

“…[33] with some modifications. Twenty five grams of each sample was weighed and homogenized by blending in 225 mL of sterile buffered peptone water.…”

&lt;i&gt;Escherichia coli&lt;/i&gt; in seafood: A brief overview

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Mass Spectrometry and Multiplex Antigen Assays to Assess Microbial Quality and Toxin Production of Staphylococcus aureus Strains Isolated from Clinical and Food Samples

“…Standard microbiological methods for microorganism's identification were used [18]. Then, S. aureus identification was based on Gram staining, morphology, catalase positivity (ID color Catalase; bioMérieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France), agglutination in the Pastorex Staph Plus test (Bio-Rad, Marnes la Coquette, France), and free coagulase production with lyophilized rabbit plasma [19].…”