Monitoring of enteric fever and diarrhea causing bacteria in a rural setting in Nigeria

Blood and stool samples of patients attending the General Hospital Abudu, Edo State, Nigeria were analyzed to know the prevalence of enteric fever and diarrhea causing bacteria in the area in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Blood sample was collected in Robertson cooked medium and glucose broth; then subcultured on blood agar, macConkey agar,salmonella/shigella agar and nutrient agar. Widal agglutination test was also carried out on the blood samples. Stool sample was inoculated into thiosulfate bile sucrose medium, seleniteF medium and later subcultured on macConkey agar and salmonella/shigella agar. Of the patients screened, the percentage incidence of Salmonella typhi was between 17.5 and 56.5% in 2007;Salmonella paratyphi C was between 2.0 and 26.7%; Salmonella paratyphi A was between 0 and 9.4% and Salmonella paratyphi B was between 0 and 0.7%; enteropathogenic Escherichia coli was between 0 and 0.6%; neither shigella norVibrio cholera was isolated. In 2008 of the salmonella organisms, the incidence of S. typhi was highest with frequency of 19.7 to 54.5%, followed by S. paratyphi C: 1.0 to 12.6%; S. paratyphi A: 0 to 3.9%, and enteropathogenic E. coli was 0 to 0.8%, and in 2009, the incidence or Salmonella typhi was highest with a frequency of 2.7 to 68.3%. There was no significant difference (p>o.05) between S. typhi incidence throughout the study period. However, there was a significant difference (p<.05) between the incidence of S. typhi and other isolates. This project revealed a high rate of typhoid fever (enteric fever) caused by S. typhi in Abudu (study area). Further work should be done to identify the source or sources of infection especially their water supply as typhoid fever is a water-borne disease.   Key words: Enteric fever, incidence, prevalence, subcultured, typhoid fever.