Central African Journal of Public Health

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Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Feacal Waste Used As Manure in Farms of Some Communities of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria

Received: 12 August 2016    Accepted: 24 August 2016    Published: 30 September 2016
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Abstract

Fresh fruits and vegetables have been implicated as vehicles for the transmission of microbial food-borne diseases worldwide. This research aimed to assess the prevalence of E. coli O157 serogroup in fruits, vegetables and animal faecal manures used in some farms in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A total of 250 ready-to-eat fruits such as egg plant, carrot and cucumber and vegetables including fluted pumpkin, water leaf and okra were randomly collected from farms, markets, vendors and sale outlets in the study areas. Animal (cow, goat, poultry, swine) fecal waste samples used as manure (n=100) were collected from various farms in the area. The study employed standard microbiological analysis of these samples. Out of a total of 250 fruits and vegetable samples tested, 39 (15.6%) E. coli were isolated from fruits and vegetables, of which 30 (22.1%) were from washed and 9 (7.9%) from unwashed samples. None of the E. coli isolates belonged to the E. coli O157 serogroup. Out of the 100 samples of animal dung tested, 45% yielded E. coli and E. coliO157 serogroup accounted for 3% of the isolates. Cow (n=2) and goat (n=1) fecal samples were associated with E. coli O157. Although none of the fruits and vegetables tested yielded E. coli O157 serogroup, the results of this study have identified cow and goat dung as potential sources of E. coli O157 contamination of farm produce if used as manure. The detection of E. coli in fruits and vegetables, and E. coli O157 in cattle and goat droppings in particular, is a clear indication of food safety risk. Consumers of farm products should wash them thoroughly with potable water before consumption to drastically reduce the risk of infection with enteropathogens.

DOI 10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14
Published in Central African Journal of Public Health (Volume 2, Issue 1, October 2016)
Page(s) 22-27
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This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

E. coli O157, Fruits, Vegetables, Animal Faecal Manure, Nigeria

References
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[24] U. S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. “Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157 Infection, November-December, 2006. www.cdc.gov/ecoli/2006/december/121406.htm Accessed 01/03/2012.
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Author Information
  • Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

  • Department of Environmental Health Management, Centre for Wetlands Studies, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

  • Department of Community Health, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

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  • APA Style

    A. E. Moses, R. A. James, U. S. Ekanem. (2016). Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Feacal Waste Used As Manure in Farms of Some Communities of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria. Central African Journal of Public Health, 2(1), 22-27. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14

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    A. E. Moses; R. A. James; U. S. Ekanem. Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Feacal Waste Used As Manure in Farms of Some Communities of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria. Cent. Afr. J. Public Health 2016, 2(1), 22-27. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14

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    AMA Style

    A. E. Moses, R. A. James, U. S. Ekanem. Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Feacal Waste Used As Manure in Farms of Some Communities of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria. Cent Afr J Public Health. 2016;2(1):22-27. doi: 10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14

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  • @article{10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14,
      author = {A. E. Moses and R. A. James and U. S. Ekanem},
      title = {Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Feacal Waste Used As Manure in Farms of Some Communities of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria},
      journal = {Central African Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {2},
      number = {1},
      pages = {22-27},
      doi = {10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.cajph.20160201.14},
      abstract = {Fresh fruits and vegetables have been implicated as vehicles for the transmission of microbial food-borne diseases worldwide. This research aimed to assess the prevalence of E. coli O157 serogroup in fruits, vegetables and animal faecal manures used in some farms in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A total of 250 ready-to-eat fruits such as egg plant, carrot and cucumber and vegetables including fluted pumpkin, water leaf and okra were randomly collected from farms, markets, vendors and sale outlets in the study areas. Animal (cow, goat, poultry, swine) fecal waste samples used as manure (n=100) were collected from various farms in the area. The study employed standard microbiological analysis of these samples. Out of a total of 250 fruits and vegetable samples tested, 39 (15.6%) E. coli were isolated from fruits and vegetables, of which 30 (22.1%) were from washed and 9 (7.9%) from unwashed samples. None of the E. coli isolates belonged to the E. coli O157 serogroup. Out of the 100 samples of animal dung tested, 45% yielded E. coli and E. coliO157 serogroup accounted for 3% of the isolates. Cow (n=2) and goat (n=1) fecal samples were associated with E. coli O157. Although none of the fruits and vegetables tested yielded E. coli O157 serogroup, the results of this study have identified cow and goat dung as potential sources of E. coli O157 contamination of farm produce if used as manure. The detection of E. coli in fruits and vegetables, and E. coli O157 in cattle and goat droppings in particular, is a clear indication of food safety risk. Consumers of farm products should wash them thoroughly with potable water before consumption to drastically reduce the risk of infection with enteropathogens.},
     year = {2016}
    }
    

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    T1  - Prevalence of Escherichia coli O157 in Fruits, Vegetables and Animal Feacal Waste Used As Manure in Farms of Some Communities of Akwa Ibom State-Nigeria
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    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.cajph.20160201.14
    AB  - Fresh fruits and vegetables have been implicated as vehicles for the transmission of microbial food-borne diseases worldwide. This research aimed to assess the prevalence of E. coli O157 serogroup in fruits, vegetables and animal faecal manures used in some farms in Uyo and Ikot Ekpene communities of Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. A total of 250 ready-to-eat fruits such as egg plant, carrot and cucumber and vegetables including fluted pumpkin, water leaf and okra were randomly collected from farms, markets, vendors and sale outlets in the study areas. Animal (cow, goat, poultry, swine) fecal waste samples used as manure (n=100) were collected from various farms in the area. The study employed standard microbiological analysis of these samples. Out of a total of 250 fruits and vegetable samples tested, 39 (15.6%) E. coli were isolated from fruits and vegetables, of which 30 (22.1%) were from washed and 9 (7.9%) from unwashed samples. None of the E. coli isolates belonged to the E. coli O157 serogroup. Out of the 100 samples of animal dung tested, 45% yielded E. coli and E. coliO157 serogroup accounted for 3% of the isolates. Cow (n=2) and goat (n=1) fecal samples were associated with E. coli O157. Although none of the fruits and vegetables tested yielded E. coli O157 serogroup, the results of this study have identified cow and goat dung as potential sources of E. coli O157 contamination of farm produce if used as manure. The detection of E. coli in fruits and vegetables, and E. coli O157 in cattle and goat droppings in particular, is a clear indication of food safety risk. Consumers of farm products should wash them thoroughly with potable water before consumption to drastically reduce the risk of infection with enteropathogens.
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