Abstract

Escherichia coli (E. coli) belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae has been implicated as the causal agent to many gastro-intestinal disorders in man and animal. Seventy samples of clinical origins were collected randomly from patients at Lahour Public Health Research centre, Benin City in Edo state. E. coli were found in 4/70 (25%) of the samples; while Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp.  and Pseudomonas spp. had percentage abundance of 12.5, 31.25 and 31.25% respectively. All E. coli isolates were resistant to the following antibiotics Ampicilin, Nalidixic acid, Chloramphenicol, Tetracycline, Cotrimoxazole, Norfloxacine, Traflox, Ciproval, Nitrofurantoin and Perflacin, while 75% were resistant to Gentamicine, only. E. coli isolates were screened for plasmids. It was observed that 3(75%) were plasmid mediated while 1(25%) harbored only the chromosomal DNA. This study indicates the susceptibility pattern of E. coli resistance to different antibiotics and the need to contend the continuous spread of the these resistant strains.

Key words: Escherichia coli, antibiotics resistance pattern, plasmid profile.