ABSTRACT

Fruit salad was screened for Extended Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) producing Salmonella spp. A total of twenty (20) samples of fruit salad were obtained from street vendors within Umuahia metropolis were cultured on Xylose Lysine Deoxychlorite agar (XLD) using pour plate methods. The isolates were identified using standard microbiological protocol while the antibiotics susceptibility test was done using Modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion techniques. Commercially impregnated discs consisting of twelve antibiotics includes; Ceftriazone (45ug), Cefotaxime (25ug), Cefuroxime (30ug), Cefexime (5ug), Imipenem/Cilastatin (10/10ug), Gentamicin (10ug), Levofloxacin (5ug), Ofloxacin (5ug), Nalidixic acid (30ug), Amoxicillin Clavulanate (30ug), Nitrofuratoin (300ug) and Ampilox (10ug). The ESBL production was phenotypically determined using the Clinical Laboratory Standard Institute (CLSI) break point and confirmed using double disc synergy test. From this study the prevalence of Salmonella spp in the fruit salad was 50%. The result from the antibiotics susceptibility pattern showed that the Salmonella isolates were highly susceptible to Ofloxacin (90%) and Levofloxacin (70%) while being highly resistant to Amoxicillin, Cefotaxime, Imipenem, ceftriazone, ampiclox and cefuroxime at 100%. The isolates exhibited different resistivity pattern with most of the isolate having a multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR Index) of more than 0.2. About 10(100%) of the isolates were suspected to be ESBL producers, while 3(30%) of the Salmonella isolates were confirmed to be ESBL producers. Based on the results obtained, the fruit salad sold in Umuahia metropolis, Nigeria, is contaminated with important bacterial food-borne pathogen such as Salmonella spp and this does not conform to the standard limits of detectable microbes in ready-to-eat foods as stipulated by the Center for Food Safety. Therefore, regular monitoring of the quality of commercially available fruits salad for human consumption is recommended to avoid outbreak of food borne illness resulting from the organisms encountered in this study.