ANTIBIOTICS SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERNS OF BACTERIAL SPECIES ISOLATED FROM FRESH SEA FISHES SOLD IN MARKETS IN WARRI, DELTA STATE NIGERIA

Five fresh sea fishes (Tilapia sp, Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus, Citharinus sp, Tilapia guineensis, and Lates niloticus) bought from the main market and makava market in Warri Delta State Nigeria were investigated for their bacterial flora using standard conventional plating techniques. The total aerobic viable counts ranges from 7.5×106 CFU/mL for Lates niloticus to 7.0×107 CFU/mL for Citharinus sp; while the mean coliform counts range from 3.6×105 CFU/mL for Citharinus sp to 4.4×106 CFU/mL for Tilapia guineensis. Eight bacterial species were isolated; these include; Bacillus cereus, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Aeromonas hydrophila, Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Shigella dysenteriae. The sensitivity profile of the isolates using some antibiotics battery shows that Vibrio cholerae and Aeromonas hydrophila were sensitive to all the antibiotics, while other bacterial isolates elaborated varying degrees of sensitivity and resistance. The diameter of the zones of inhibition for sensitive isolates range from 16-27 mm, while that for the resistant isolates ranged from 0-13mm. The result also shows that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was resistant to 8 out of the 15 antibiotics used in this study, while the remaining bacterial isolates were resistant to 1-4 antibiotics. The occurrence of pathogenic bacterial species with multiple drug resistance in sea fishes called for the proper pre-treatment of human, animal and domestic wastes before being dumped into the sea and fresh water environment, in order to reduce the possible contamination of this essential food resource (fish) with the consequent health implications.