Antimicrobial sensitivity of bacterial isolates from street vended fruits in Ijebu area of Ogun state, Nigeria

Street vended fruits are fruits which are sold by street vendors and require no further processing like peeling, slicing and washing before consumption. A total of seventy-five (75) samples of sliced fruits: pineapples (20), pawpaw (25), watermelons (15) and coconut (15) were purchased from different vendors in Ijebu area of Ogun State and pour plate method was used to analyze the samples to determine their microbiological safety. Identification of gram negative, oxidase negative bacteria was done using API 20E kit and the conventional biochemical testing for gram positive bacteria. Antibiotic sensitivity test was carried out by disc diffusion method. The microbial load for pawpaw was in the range of 2.6-8.0 × 10 5 cfu/ml, Pineapple 1.2 - 2.3 ×10 5 cfu/ml, Coconut 0.5 - 5.6 × 10 5 cfu/ml and watermelon 3.0 - 9.3 × 10 5 cfu/ml Bacteria isolated include Staphylococcus aureus, Micrococcus sp, Bacillus subtilis, Lactobacillus spp, Streptococcus spp , E. coli, Bacillus cereus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia plymuthica, Serratia ficaria, Proteus mirabilis and Enterococcus faecalis. Antibiotic sensitivity test carried out on the isolates revealed that many of the bacteria showed an intermediate to sensitive reaction to most of the antibiotics tested. All the gram positive bacteria were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin, Streptomycin, Cloxacillin and most were resistant to cefuroxime. All the gram negative isolates were sensitive to chloramphenicol. K. pneumoniae was resistant to pefloxacin and co-trimoxazole. S. plymuthica was sensitive to all the antibiotics. Transmission of resistant bacteria is a potential concern with unhygienic handling of sliced fruits. Better handling process and health education is crucial to preventing spread of resistant bacteria and food poisoning through these otherwise commonly consumed fruits.