Bacteriology And Antibiogram Of Different Brands Of Male Condoms Sold In Ikot Ekpene Metropolis

A condom is a thin cover worn on the penis during intercourse to prevent female partners from becoming pregnant or getting an infection spread through sexual contact or giving one to a partner. This study aimed to carry out bacteriology and antibiogram of different brands of male condoms sold in Ikot Ekpene Metropolis. Four samples were purchased in triplicates from different pharmaceutical stores and analyzed in the laboratory. The mean heterotrophic count of the different samples showed the highest bacterial count of 5.0 x104 Cfu/cm2 from sample D while the least bacterial count was observed in sample C with 2.0 x 104 Cfu/cm2. The following isolates were obtained: Staphylococcus sp, Pseudomonas sp, and Bacillus sp. The highest percentage of occurrence of the bacterial isolates was observed in Staphylococcus sp at 29.4 % and Pseudomonas sp at 23.0 %, while the least was obtained in Bacillus sp at 21.4 %. The antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of bacterial isolates shows that Staphylococcus sp was sensitive to Ciprofloxacin (34 mm), Azithromycin (30 mm), Gentamycin (31 mm), Cefuroxime (28 mm), Streptomycin (27 mm), Levofloxacin (24 mm), Amoxil (23 mm), Ceftazidime (23 mm), Erythromycin (22 mm) and Rifampicin (20 mm). Staphylococcus sp (coagulase-negative) was sensitive to Levofloxacin (29 mm), Gentamycin (29 mm), Streptomycin (21 mm), Azithromycin (28 mm), Amoxil (27 mm), Erythromycin (26 mm), Ciprofloxacin (25 mm), Cefuroxime (25 mm), Ceftazidime (23 mm) and Rifampicin (20 mm). Bacillus sp was sensitive to Gentamycin (31 mm), Amoxil (28 mm), Ceftazidime (28 mm), Cefuroxime (28 mm), Azithromycin (27 mm), Ciprofloxacin (25 mm), Rifampicin (25mm) Streptomycin (23 mm), Levofloxacin (23 mm) and Erythromycin (22 mm). Pseudomonas sp was sensitive to Streptomycin (28 mm), Peflacine (28 mm) and Ofloxacin (27 mm). The bacterial growth may be due to the non-sterile nature of the equipment and the lubricant. Hence, there is a serious need to maintain aseptic conditions during manufacturing.