IJSR - International Journal of Scientific Research

Swapan Kumar Chowdhury; Dilip Hore; Sujit Kumar Mahanta; Brinda Adhikari; Mahua  Mukherjee; Shriparna Mukherjee; Ranadhir Chakraborty

Volume : VI, Issue : XI, November - 2017

PREVALENCE OF MULTI–DRUG RESISTANT BACTERIA IN BETEL (PIPER BETEL L) LEAF–WASHED–WATER OF THE ROAD SIDE PAANâ€˜ STALL IN NORTHERN WEST BENGAL

Swapan Kumar Chowdhury, Dilip Hore, Sujit Kumar Mahanta, Brinda Adhikari, Mahua Mukherjee, Shriparna Mukherjee, Ranadhir Chakraborty

Abstract :

Bacterial pathogens causing acute diarrheal diseases and enteric fever (typhoid) are the most prevalent microbial contaminants of water and water drenched fresh produce in India. Fresh betel leaf is chewed and consumed as raw by a large proportion of Indian population. People buy betel leaf as ‘paan’ from non–hygienic road–side stalls for direct consumption. Betel leaves are always drenched with contaminated water, as an outcome, can be a widespread medium of transmission of enteropathogenic bacteria. The present study was aimed to determine level of enteric bacterial contamination in betel leaf–washed–water, and assess the antibiotic resistance profiles (ARPs) of the isolates. The principal objective was to reveal the presence of antibiotic–resistant enteric bacteria and document their resistance pattern in order to create awareness among the authorities of the regulatory bodies concerned with public health and hygiene and ‘paan’ consumers in general. Mean Probable Number (MPN) tests confirmed the presence of total coliform (TC), fecal coliform (FC) in each of the ‘paan’–washed–water samples tested. Type of enteric bacteria and their abundances were determined by dilution plating on different selective plates. Heterotrophic bacterial count in the water samples ranged from 5.85 x 10⁵ to 2.78 x 10⁶

c.f.u. ml^–1. Bacteria resistant to all the five antibiotics tested were found in three of five samples. Presence of significantly small proportion of antibiotic–sensitive bacteria in the water samples (one of them contained no sensitive bacteria) is considered to be very alarming.