Prevalence of Gram-Negative Bacteria in Ready to Eat Vegetables Obtained from Farms in Kano State, Nigeria

This study assessed the presence of pathogenic bacteria in ready to eat vegetables from vegetable farms in Kano State, Nigeria. One hundred (100) samples each of carrot, cabbage and lettuce grown in Jakara and Sharada irrigation farms in Kano state were investigated. Samples were cultured and isolates identified by standard bacteriological methods. This study revealed that sixteen different gram-negative bacterial genera, namely, Escherichia coli, E. vulneris, Shigella spp., Tatumella spp., Acinetobacter spp., Citrobacter spp.,Enterobacter spp., Salmonella spp., Hafnia spp., Citrobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., Providencia spp., Edwardsiella spp., Yersinia spp., Proteus spp. and Serratia spp., were isolated from the respective samples. Among the isolated pathogens, E. coli (48%), Citrobacter spp. (36%) and Salmonella spp. (26%) were the most frequently isolated organisms from vegetables at Jakara farms while the predominant organisms isolated from Sharada samples were Shigella spp. (18%), Enterobacter spp. (32%) and Salmonella spp. (34%). Samples were also screened separately for Campylobacter spp. and C. jejuni was the most common isolate recovered. The presence of these potentially pathogenic organisms poses a serious public health risk to consumers who eat these vegetables in a raw form