Antibiotics Resistance and Abundance of Some Bacteria from Agricultural and Non-agricultural Soil in One of the Most Agriculturally-active Settings in West Cameroon
Loïc Kevin Kamgaing Nkamguia
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon and Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon.
O’Neal Dorsel Youté
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon, Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon and Military Health Research Center, Cameroon.
Blandine Pulcherie Tamatcho Kweyang
Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon.
Esther Guladys Kougang
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon, Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon and National Veterinary Laboratory, Cameroon.
Pascal Blaise Well à Well à Koul
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon and Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon.
Adolarice Nana Feukeu
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon and Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon.
Christelle Domngang Noche
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon, Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon and School of Human Medicine, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon.
Pierre René Fotsing Kwetche
*
School of Biomedical Sciences, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon, Laboratory of Microbiology, Université des Montagnes Teaching Hospital, Cameroon and School of Human Medicine, Higher Institute of Health Sciences, Université des Montagnes, Cameroon.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: Agriculture is also concerned with the problem of bacterial resistance because agricultural soils are reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes.
Objective: An investigation about ARB was carried out on agricultural soils in Mangoum, a neighborhood of the Foumbot municipality (Noun division, West Cameroon).
Methods: It was conducted as a cross-sectional descriptive study with a total of 46 soil specimens collected from plant farms and a control plot. Isolation, enumeration and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed according to standard protocols.
Results: The bacteria recovered included Aeromonas spp., Chryseobacterium spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Gram-positive rods. Their loads in the farmland soils were significantly lower than in the control plot. Overall, susceptibility tests performed with 169 bacterial colony morphotypes revealed high resistance rates. Also, most of the isolates expressed multidrug-resistance to the antibiotics used, while highest resistance rates were recorded with isolates form agricultural plots. Levofloxacin, Imipenem, Gentamicin and Ciprofloxacin were globally the most effective.
Conclusion: Agreeing with previous surveys conducted on animal farms, these findings could provide support to the sustainable orientation of policies regarding the control of antimicrobial resistance in Cameroon from the One Health perspective.
Keywords: Agricultural soils, antibiotic, resistant bacteria, bacterial abundance