ABSTRACT

The study evaluated the microbial contamination of used weavon and hair tools of students within Michael Okpara University Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State. A total of ten (10) MOUAU students were randomly selected within Umudike. The bacteria species isolated include: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa respectively, while the fungi species are Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Rhodotorula species and Mucor alternaria respectively. The total bacterial mean count recorded in this study was found to be higher in hair brush sample 2.10x105(cfu/g), while the weavon samples recorded the highest fungal counts at 3.14x105(cfu/g). From the findings in this study, it was observed that Staphylococcus aureus had the highest number and percentage of isolates in the samples at 8(44.4%), while Aspergillus flavus and Mucor alternaria 3(33.3%) were the most predominant and frequently occurring fungal isolates from the samples. From the present study, the antimicrobial susceptibility and resistant patterns of bacterial isolates from the sample cultures revealed that Streptococcus spp and Pseudomonas aeruginosa had the highest (26mm) degree of sensitive to the antibiotics drug Streptomycin (30mcg), while Staphylococcus aureus showed high (0.0mm) degree of resistance to antibiotics drugs Norfloxacin (10mcg), Rifampicin (20mcg), Amoxicillin (30mcg), and Ampiclox (20mcg). It is concluded that the isolation of pathogenic bacteria (designated as objectionable microorganisms) from the weavon and hair brushes indicates that the weavon and hair brushes do not meet the stipulated microbiological quality standards in official monographs and can therefore serve as vehicles for the transmission of the detected pathogenic organisms.