Characterization Of Escherichia Coli And Enterococcus Species Isolated From Cattle Dung:- Nnodim, Chidera M

ABSTRACT This study characterized Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species isolated from cattle dung. A total of five (5) fresh cattle dung samples were collected from cattle ranches within Umuahia metropolis. The samples were cultured on Nutrient agar, Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte-Deficient agar and MacConkey agar plates using pour plate techniques. The isolates were characterized based on morphological features, Motility, Gram staining and biochemical characterization which includes; catalase, oxidase, citrate, indole and Voges-Proskaucr tests. They were further identified using Bergey’s manual of determinate bacteriology. These tests confirmed the presence of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species in cattle dung samples. From this study, sample A5 had the highest number of coliform bacteria, followed by sample Ai (2.5x10’), while the least was recorded for sample Az (1.4x1 O’). It was also observed that Escherichia coli is the most frequently occurring isolates with a percentage occurrence of 6(46.1%), followed by Enterococcus species 7(53.8%). This indicated that animal faecal wastes could be a reservoir of microbial load. However, the bacteria species isolated indicated a public health concern as they showed high counts and occurrence on the samples. These high counts suggested heavy bacterial contamination ofthe cattle dung samples.