Antibiotics susceptibility patterns of urine bacterial isolates in Zaria, Nigeria

Purpose: The prevalence of E. coli, Ps. aeruginosa and Staph aureus isolates from urine of selected residents in Zaria was investigated. This was an attempt to elucidate the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of these bacteria commonly implicated in urinary tact infection. Methods: Urine samples collected from students of Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University and Kaduna State Polytechnic, Zaria, Nigeria, commercial sex workers, and illiterate men and women in Zaria were cultured and bacterial isolates identified using standard microbiological procedures. The antibacterial susceptibility of the isolated bacteria were investigated. Results: A total of 206 bacteria were isolated from 150 urine samples collected from the subjects. The prevalence of the Ps aeruginosa, Staph aureus and E. coli isolates from the urine samples is 53.4%, 43.3% and 40.7%, respectively. Commercial sex workers had the highest (30.6%) prevalence of bacteria in their urine samples while the students had the least. Multiple antibiotics resistance was highest for the bacteria isolates obtained from urine samples of the students and commercial sex workers. Conclusion: Ps aeruginosa, Staph aureus and E. coli are highly prevalent in urine of the residents of Zaria investigated. The high multiple antibiotics resistance identified makes it necessary for antibiotic susceptibility testing to be conducted prior to antibiotics prescription in in Zaria. Key words: Antibiotics resistance; bacteria; E. coli; Ps. aeuginosa; Staph aureus; urine. Trop J Pharm Res, December 2003; 2(2):223-22