Abstract

The prevalence of Listeria monocytogenes in fresh raw milk and abattoir effluents in the six zones of Nigeria was determined. Antibiotic resistant profile of the isolates was examined using the Bauer- Kirby disc diffusion assay. A total of 626 food and environmental samples were cultured on selective media out of which 54 (8.6%) were positive for L. monocytogenes. Chloramphenicol was the most effective antibiotic against the isolates with the least resistance (3.70%) while nalidixic acid proved to be least effective with resistance of 90.74%. The multiple-antibiotic resistant pattern of the isolates showed nalidixic acid/cloxacillin (35.2%), nalidixic acid/colistin (31.5%) and cloxacillin/colistin/nalidixic acid (29.6%) to be most prominent. The least value was observed in chloramphenicol/nitrofurantin/cotrimoxazole with 5.6%. The modal values of the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the antibiotics to the isolates range between 4.0 and >16.0 µg/ml. Chloramphenicol, nitrofurantin and gentamycin recorded the highest MIC compared with other antibiotics. This study has demonstrated that a wide and rapidly expanding range of undesirable and, in some cases, multi-resistant determinants is currently present in L. monocytogenes.

Key words:  Listeria monocytogenes, fresh raw milk, abattoir effluents, antibiotic resistance.