The Role of Mobile Phones in Spread of Pathogenic Bacteria among Food Vendors and Vended Food Sold In Lagos State

Abstract

 Food vendors are important in every socio-economic sector in developing countries, providing ready-to-eat food to the populace and in the process, they transmit pathogenic organisms to the food being sold. However, a very important but neglected source of these pathogenic bacteria is the phone handled by the food vendors.

This study is aimed to ascertain if the phone handled by the food vendor could be a potential source of dissemination pathogenic bacteria to the vended food been sold.

Sample of five food types from eateries in five different locations were obtained within Lagos environ and the locations were grouped into hygienic and unhygienic areas based on the parameters used in this study. Phone swabs were obtained from the phones used by the food handlers where the food samples were obtained. The food and the phone swabs were analyzed bacteriologically using standard methods. Viable counts were also obtained using standard procedures. The isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing by standard

The total plate count of bacteria obtained from food samples ranged from 3.8x103cfu/g in rice to >300cfu/g in spaghetti. A total of six different bacterial agents identified as E.coli, Klebsiella spp, Enterobacter spp, Salmonella spp, Proteus spp and Shigella spp were observed in the phone and food samples analyzed. In general, eleven and twelve bacterial isolates were identified on phone and food samples analyzed. The most occurring isolates on phone samples was Proteus spp (27%) and E.coli (27%) while the most occurring isolate on phone was Klebsiella spp (33.3%). All isolates were resistant to Septrin, Amoxicillin, Augmentin and Streptomycin. However, 75% of the food isolates were susceptible to Ciproflaxcin while 81.7% of the isolates from phone samples were susceptible to Ciprofloxacin.

The most frequently occurring multidrug resistance pattern is Sxt Ctl  Sp  Am Au Gn Pef Ofx S  with a total of 8 bacterial isolates showing this resistance pattern.

The study revealed that there was cross-contamination between phone handled by the food vendors and the vended food sold.

 

Table of contents

Title page                                                                                                                  

Certification                                                                                                              i

Dedication                                                                                                                  ii

Acknowledgement                                                                                                    iii

Table of content                                                                                                        iv-v

Abstract                                                                                                                     vi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND LITERATURE REVIEW 

1.1            Introduction and Literature Review                                                       1-10

1.2       Statement of problem                                                                             11

1.3       Aim and objective                                                                                  12

CHAPTER TWO: MATERIALS AND METHODS

2.1 Scope of study                                                                                             13

2.2 Sample collection                                                                                        13

2.3 Sample storage                                                                                            14

2.4 Sterilization od equipment                                                                          14

2.5 Collection of vended food samples                                                             15

2.6 Collection of phone swab samples from food vendors                               15

2.7 Bacteriological analysis                                                                               16

2.7.1 Viable count                                                                                             16

2.8 Bacterial identification                                                                                16

2.8.1 Gram staining                                                                                           17

2.8.2 Catalase test                                                                                              17    

2.8.3Oxidase test                                                                                               17

2.8.3 Citrate utilization                                                                                   18

2..8.4 Triple sugar iron                                                                                   18

2.8.5 Motility test                                                                                           18

2.9 Antimicrobial susceptibility test                                                              19

2.9.1 Standardization of inoculum                                                                 19

2.9.2 Susceptibility testing of isolates to different antibiotics                       19

CHAPTER THREE: RESULTS

Results                                                                                                            20-31

CHAPTER 3: DISCUSSIONS

Discussion                                                                                                      32-38

Conclusion                                                                                                      39

Recommendation                                                                                            40

References                                                                                                     41-45

Appendix                                                                                                       46-49