Yogurt Consumed In Owerri And Potential For Transmission Of Pathogenic Microorganisms.

The dairy yogurt is a fermented milk drink produced by the action of bacteria such as Lactobacillus species and Streptococcus species and commonly consumed all over the world.it has a very good nutritional benefits and therefore very valuable to the health of consumers.This study was carried out to determine the bacterial contamination of yoghurt consumed within Owerri metropolis.Triplicates of 17 yoghurt brands including branded and locally made products (total 51) were purchased from shops and street hawkers within Owerri.Total heterotrophic count of the samples was determined by pour plate method on nutrient agar.The samples were also inoculated on MacConkey agar and blood agar plates and the isolates were identified by standard morphological and biochemical techniques.The result shows that the samples possess high microbial load ranging from 10 2 to 10 7 .Thirty yogurt samples (58.82%) have 3 or more different isolates, 10 samples (19.61%) have 2 isolates each while 10 samples (19.61%) have only one type of isolate.The isolates include Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas sp, Lactobacillus sp, Streptococcus sp, Bacillus sp and Proteus sp.The antimicrobial susceptibility testing indicates that resistance of the isolates to ampicillin range from 40% of the isolates to 72.7%, resistance to Chloramphenicol range from 50% to 90%, resistance to Amoxicillin range from 37.5% to 72.7%.Also, resistance to Amoxicillin/clavulanate range from 40% to 72.7%.Resistance to the fluoroquinolones range from 10% to 54.5% while the resistance to the aminoglycoside range from 5% to 45.5%.The resistance to the cephalosporins was 25% to 63.6%.It is concluded there is high level of bacterial contamination of yoghurt consumed within Owerri metropolis with high level of antimicrobial resistance and profound public health risks to the consumers of yoghurt.It is recommended that producers of yoghurt employ all principles of Good Manufacturing Practice throughout the production process.Absolute hygienic principles are necessary to prevent microbial contamination and proliferation of potential pathogens.It is also necessary to store and distribute yoghurt at the appropriate conditions that will not encourage microbial proliferation.