ASSESSMENT ON THE MICROBIAL LOAD AND ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERNS OF ISOLATES FROM SELECTED PALM OIL MILL EFFLUENT (POME) IN NIMO, ANAMBRA STATE.

Abstract: The microbial load and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of isolates from selected Palm oil mill effluent in Nimo, Anambra state was assessed. Four (4) samples each of palm oil effluent were collected from some local oil palm processing sites from the study area. After serial dilution, One mililiter of 1:105 and 1:106 dilution factor were distributed into a prepared nutrient agar and sabouraud dextrose agar plates. After the inoculation, the plates were incubated for 24hours at 37ºC and bacterial count were obtained, thus 2.62 × 103 cfu/ml, 1.40 × 103 cfu/ml ,while 2.20x 106cfu and 1.52× 106 cfu/ml for fungal count for highest and lowest count respectively. Using standard colony, morphological and biochemical identification methods, the organisms were observed and recorded. A total of four bacteria isolates were identified; Bacillus spp, Clostridium spp, Micrococcus spp and Staphylococcus spp while Candida spp and Mucor spp were identified as the fungi. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the bacterial isolates were determined against the following antibiotic agents: erythromycin (10 μg), ciprofloxacin (20 μg), ampiclox (10 μg), rifampicin (20 μg), amoxil (20 μg), septrin (30 μg), ampicillin (30 μg), ceporex (10 μg) and levofloxacin (20 μg). The study revealed that palm oil effluent harbor a diverse number of microorganisms which could be pathogenic and could encourage the spread of infectious disease, hence the need for the treatment of the effluent before discharging them to the environment. Also the study gives a clear understanding on the knowledge of the patterns of the antibiotics activities against the isolates. Therefore, contributes to a better understanding of possible damage that could be made to aquatic and soil ecosystem by polluted oil mill effluents, thus paves a way for developing improved preservation strategies to enhance the quality and safety of aquatic and soil inhabitants.