ISOLATION OF ESCHERICHIA COLI FROM DUCKS AND DUCK RELATED SAMPLES

Abstract

The conventional method was used to isolate Escherichia coli from ducks and duck related samples. The samples were obtained from a wet market and two duck farms. The average occurrence of Escherichia coli was 78.00% and was highest in duck faeces (87.93%), followed by duck intestines (81.25%), soil (70.83%) and wash water (50.00%) samples. The prevalence in Farm B (90.45%) was higher than in Farm A (80.33%). The occurrence of Escherichia coli did not differ significantly (p>0.05) among the samples examined. In addition, most of the isolates belongs to the serotype 0517 (82.44%) and biotype 1 (82.44%). The study indicates that ducks like other farm animals are primary reservoirs for Escherichia coli including potential pathogenic types and the opportunity for cross contamination and consequently foodborne poisoning or illness exists through the consumption of contaminated food.