Resistant Genes of Microbes Associated with Abattoir Wastes

Antimicrobial drug resistance has become prominent as a universal health threat. This has been studied not only in humans but food animals as well. Many genes located on the chromosomal DNA of bacteria have been linked with drug resistance. It is therefore crucial that its occurrence in abattoirs where these animals are slaughtered be studied. This study was thus aimed at identifying some resistance genes in microbes isolated from abattoir ecologies. One hundred and eighty (180) samples consisting of service water, waste blood, wastewater, soil and faecal matter collected from Iwofe, Rumuodumaya and Trans-Amadi abattoirs within a period of one year were used in this study. Processing of the samples was done using standard microbiological protocols and the antibiotics sensitivity profile of the isolated bacteria determined using popularly consumed antibiotics. The presence of Beta-lactamase genes was checked for in the multidrug resistant isolates after they had been identified using molecular biological technique. Two strains of Escherichia coli had the blaCTX-M gene, Pseudomonas sp. strain 6174 had the blaSHV and blaTEM genes, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens had the blaSHV gene, Bacillus flexus had the blaTEM genes, Staphylococcus aureus had blaSHV and blaTEM genes. blaSHV, blaCTX-M and blaTEM genes were found in most of the Gram negative bacteria as Klebsiella sp. strain EIKU11 showed prominence of all three β-lactamase genes. This brings to light that some microbes in abattoir environments possess the β-lactamase genes which enable these microorganisms exhibit multidrug resistance, thereby making treatment resulting from them difficult. Adequate sanitary measures should thus be carried out to reduce the spread of these organisms to humans.