Antibiotics Susceptibility Pattern and Plasmid Profile of Bacteria Isolated from Public Motorcycle Helmets

The shared use of motorcycle helmets amongst commuters could serve as a source of spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. In this study, the antibiotic susceptibility pattern and plasmid profile of bacteria isolated from motorcycle helmets in Lagos, Nigeria were investigated. Bacteria were isolated from forty randomly sampled motorcycle helmets and characterized using morphological and biochemical tests. A total of 83 isolates belonging to the phyla Firmicutes (74.7%) and Proteobacteria (25.3%) were obtained, and included species such as Bacillus subtilis , Bacillus anthracis , Escherichia coli , Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Salmonella spp., Shigellla spp., Staphylococcus aureus , and Staphylococcus spp. We identified species with multiple resistance patterns to commonly used antibiotics such as the β-lactams: augumentin, amoxicillin and cloxacilin, as well as the broad spectrum antibiotics gentamicin. The calculated multiple antibiotic resistance index ranged from 0.3 to 1.0. A number of the isolated species had plasmid DNA which on curing, influenced the overall sensitivity of bacteria to antibiotics. These results suggests (without outright proof) presence of antibiotic resistant plasmids in commercial motorcycle helmets and points to the possible role of plasmids in the response of bacteria to antibiotics tested. Findings of this study further highlights the epidemiological significance of motorcycle helmets sharing amongst commuters.