Antimicrobial Resistance of Enterobacteria to Some Commonly used Antibiotics in General Hospital Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Antibiotic resistance is now generally accepted as a major public health issue. This work sought to determine the antibiotic resistant profile of some members of the Enterobacteriaceae family to some commonly used antibiotics. One hundred and twenty (120) clinical isolates of Escherichia coli (40), Klebsiella spp (40) and Salmonella spp (40) were collected from General Hospital Akwanga, Nasarawa State, Nigeria and were tested against Ciprofloxacin, Streptomycin, Erythromycin, Sulphamethoxazole/Trimethoprim, Ampicillin, Tarivid, Cefoxime, Gentamicin, Augmentin and Nalidixic acid, using the Agar disc diffusion technique. The results revealed 57.5%, 54%, and 49.25% instances of resistance to Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp and Proteus spp respectively to the tested antibiotics. The high resistance recorded is in agreement with the findings of some other researchers. Findings from this work also show the high susceptibility of the Enterobacterial isolates to Ciprofloxacin (Floroquinolone) antibiotic. The result suggests that the use of the Fluoroqunolones in the treatment of the infections caused by these organisms should be encouraged. Also Search for novel antibiotics that would interfere with the genetic mechanism of microbial cells should be encouraged.