ABSTRACT
This study was carried out to isolate and identify the microbial load of the external body surfaces of houseflies (Musca domestica) and cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) from different locations such as; public toilet, Ubani market, refuse dumps, hostels, residential homes, broken sewages and hospitals in Umuahia, Abia state. A total of 80 houseflies and 58 cockroaches were collected from this sites and their external body parts screened for bacterial, fungal and parasitological carriage. The samples collected was prepared by placing them in sterile universal containers containing normal saline and shaking vigorously. The isolates obtained from the samples inoculated on culture plates were identified and characterized by their morphology, microscopic appearance and biochemical reaction. The most common bacterial isolates from the houseflies analyzed were E.coli (22.29%) and Klebsiella species (16.59%) while that of the cockroaches were E. coli (20.34%) and also Klebsiella species (17.37%). Aspergillus species was the most prevalent fungal group from both houseflies and cockroaches with relative abundance of (36.95%), (33.16%) respectively. Quantitative analysis of the total viable count of the bacterial and fungal isolates from both samples from the different sites revealed that the isolates obtained from the public toilets, refuse dumps and broken sewages were high as compared to those from the other sites. Parasitological investigations revealed the preponderance of Entamoeba histolytica (30%) from the houseflies’ analyzed while Ascaris lumbricoides assumed a high value in the cockroaches analyzed with a relative abundance of (35.87%). This results indicates that houseflies and cockroaches are possible reservoir of several microorganisms vie their body which could be pathogenic to man.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
page i
Certification
ii
Dedication
iii
Acknowledgements
iv
Table
of contents
v
List
of Tables
vii
Abstract viii
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1
1.1 Aims and Objectives of the study
5
CHAPTER
TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
6
2.1 Habitat
6
2.2 Ecology of housefly 8
2.3 Breeding sites
9
2.4 Pestiferous/health hazards associated
with houseflies
10
2.5 Possible diseases transmitted by
houseflies
10
2.6 Public health issues associated with
houseflies
11
2.7 Cockroaches and its habitat
11
2.8 Feeding
12
2.9 Identification and characterization
12
2.10 Cockroach and disease transmission
13
CHAPTER
THREE
MATERIALS AND METHODS 16
3.1 Materials
16
3.2 Methods
16
3.3 Collection of sample A. (M. domestica)
16
3.4 Preparation of sample A 16
3.5 Collection of sample B. (Periplaneta americana)
17
3.6 Preparation of sample B 17
3.7 Media preparation
17
3.8 Sterility of materials
17
3.9 Microbial analysis
17
3.10 Identification and characterization of
bacterial isolates
18
3.11 Gram staining
19
3.12 Isolation and identification of fungal
isolates
19
3.13 Biochemical test(s)
19
3.14 Data analysis
22
CHAPTER
FOUR
4.0 Results 23
CHAPTER
FIVE
DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATION 36
5.1 Discussion 36
5.2 Conclusion
37
5.3 Recommendation
38
REFERENCES
LIST OF TABLES
S/N
Title page
1 Number of houseflies analyzed from the
sample areas.
25
2 Number of cockroaches analyzed from the
sample areas
26
3 Relative abundance of bacterial isolates
from the body surfaces of houseflies 27
4 Relative abundance of bacterial isolates
from the body surfaces of cockroaches 28
5 Morphological characteristics of the
bacterial isolates from both samples 29
6 Colonial morphology and microscopic
appearance of the fugal isolates 30
7 Biochemical characteristics of the isolates
31
8 Relative abundance of fungal isolates from
the body surface of houseflies 32
9 Relative abundance of fungal isolates from
the body surface of cockroaches 33
10 Relative abundance of
parasites harbored on the body surface of houseflies 34
11 Relative abundance of
parasites harbored on the body surface of cockroaches 35
CHAPTER
ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Houseflies
(Musca domestica) are common insect
of the family Muscidae and order diptera. They are greatly involved in human
activities and thus named from the fact that they are the most common fly found
in and around houses and constitute nuisance to man (Ahmed et al., 2013). They are well known vectors of diseases and are
prevalent in items that are exposed with the faecal contamination of drinking
water, food and other dairy products being the most common features in these
areas. Hence the likelihood of human excrement being transmitted by flies is
great (Gangarous and Beisel, 1960). They are of great economic importance to
man. They constitute a global problem and often pose a threat to human and
animal health (Kassiri et al., 2012).
They are scavengers consuming large quantities of decaying animal matter. They
are injurious to human by virtue of the fact that they feed and breed in trash,
decaying flesh and bodily waste. This behavior facilitates the transmission of
well over 100 pathogenic infections in humans and animals caused by fungi,
bacteria, viruses, protozoan and metazoan parasites (Levine and Levine, 1991).
It is vector responsible for the mechanical transmission of pathogens born on
its body parts acquired from feeding on faeces and decaying debris (Holt et al., 2007). Hence, there are three
possible ways which houseflies’ transmit pathogens (Axon, 1995). The isolation
of possible bacteria from faeces has made transmission by fecal oral route
feasible (Nazni et al., 2005). In
addition to their role to disease transmission, houseflies are usually regarded
as indicator organism, symptomatic of disposal problems and reflecting the
sanitary level of the community in absence of valid statistical data and
bacteriological information about an essential health situation (Najat, 2013).
However,
it is imperative to know that the behavioral adaptations of housefly which
makes for its continuous contact with food and human wastes (Nazni et al., 2005) has presented it as an
efficient vector of human enteric protozoan parasites (Thaddeus et al., 2005). They have a filthy
feeding habit with structures well adapted for picking up pathogens. It has
proboscis equipped with profusion of fine hairs that readily collect
environmental detritus (Nazni et al.,
2005). The feet have glandular hairs and pads which secrete sticky material
(Ahmed et al., 2013).
M. domestica
is a medically important insect implicated in the transmission of various human
pathogens such as vibrio cholerae, enterobacteriocae, staphylococcus aureus, pseudomonas
spp. shigella spp, salmonella spp, rota virus, eggs of
protozoan and metazoans (Ahmed et al.,
2013). They are the major epidemiological factors responsible for the spread of
acute gastroenteritis, trachoma among infants and young children in developing
countries and transmission of nosocomial infections with multiple antibiotic
resistance bacteria (Graczyk et al.,
2001). Large populations of M. domestica
may reduce yields and contribute to substantial public health problems when
they enter nearby human habitation (Axtell, 1970). However, nothing of
significance is known about the danger level of a fly population since there
are no available tested criteria (as there are for anopheles mosquito and
malaria) for evaluating the vector role of the fly (Najat, 2013). The
complexities and uniqueness of epidemic and endemic involving flies’ makes
generalization hazardous and often of limited value. The biggest gap in the
logical development of incriminating evidence against flies is that, which exit
of our knowledge of the flies to transmit and the actuality that they do
(Greenberg, 1973). Houseflies are disease vectors of public health concerns.
They facilitates the spread of certain food borne diseases, zoonotic diseases,
nosocomial infections etc. the control of flies will help reduce the spread of this
diseases. It is therefore important to understand the ability of houseflies as
vectors and their role in the spread of diseases within a population.
Cockroaches
are primitive highly successful winged insects. They are considered one of the
most adaptable insect groups ever in human history (Etim et al., 2013). Evidence of their continued co-existence with people
throughout history is testimony to how adaptable some cockroaches are to the
habits of people (Burgress, 1981). They are born inebriate and omnivorous
scavengers in nature and have been noted by scientists to have survived more
than 300 million years (Zurek and Schal, 2004). Ancient fossils had the same
appearance as today’s cockroaches oval and flat with long legs and antenna.
There are approximately 3,500 species of cockroaches’ worldwide (Kopanic R.J,
1994). 50 species of them have been reported living in or around human
structures (Kinfua .A. and Erkob .B, 2008).
Cockroaches
are predominantly found in residential houses, public toilets, broken sewage,
restaurants, hospitals and market stores. Two species of cockroaches widely
known and distributed are the American cockroach (Periplaneta americana) and German cockroach (Blattella germanica) as shown in some studies (Ajero et al., 2011, Etim et al., 2012). The most abundantly distributed cockroach specie is
the Periplaneta americana, followed
by Blattella germanica (Al-Mayali and
Al-Yaqoobi, 2010; Tilahun et al.,
2012).
According
to Nagham et al (2011) and Kassiri
and Kazemi (2012) cockroaches frequently feed on human faeces, garbage and
sewage which have provided copious opportunity for them to disseminate
pathogenic agents. Several authors have incriminated cockroaches as reservoir
and transmitters of disease causing microorganisms like Enterobacter species, Escherichia
coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia and Salmonella species (Graczyk et al., 2005; Ukay et al., 2009; Tatfeng et al.,
2005; Tilahum et al., 2012). The
presence of fungal genera such as Candida,
Rhizopus, Mucor, Alternaria and Aspergillus species have been reported
on external body surfaces of cockroaches in hospital and residential houses
(Nagham et al., 2011). Similarly,
parasites have also been found on the external and internal surfaces of
cockroaches (Al-Mayali and Al-Yaqoobi, 2010; Chamavit et al., 2011; El-Sherbini, 2011).
Various
infective rates such as 98%, 100%, 98%, 83.33% and 54% of cockroaches have been
reported by Salehzadeh et al., (2007)
in Iran, Kassiri and Kazemi (2012) in Iran, El-Sherbini and El-Sherbini (2011)
in Egypt, Al-Mayali and Al-Yaqoobi (2010) in Iraq, (Chamavit et al., 2011) in Thailand respectively.
No
doubt, cockroaches are one of the most embarrassing pests that must be dealt
with by occupants of residential houses, hospitals and commercial
establishments due to their repulsive and annoying characteristics as well as
the persistent and objectionable odor left on contaminated articles (Thyseen et al., 2004). Many reports revealed
that cockroaches are responsible for serious health problems, provoke allergic
reactions and even vector human enteric parasites (Thyseen et al., 2004; Tatfeng et al.,
2005; Gatechew et al., 2007;
Fakoorziba et al., 2007). The close
contact of these roaches with people and the attendant public health consequences
in this unsanitary communities necessitated the microbiological studies of this
insect, to enhance initiation of control measures of disease caused by this
insect.
The
American cockroach, Periplaneta americana
no doubt, is by far the most serious and predominant metropolitan pest in
Umuahia, Abia state, Nigeria and her environs judging by how often they are
commonly cited in large numbers in many households, kitchens/restaurants,
offices, grocery stores, broken sewage and refuse disposal sites in and around
Umuahia metropolis.
Indeed,
the medical importance of cockroaches is much greater than generally realized
as they have been shown to harbor a number of pathogenic and non-pathogenic
microorganisms (Fotedar R. et al.,
1991). Cockroaches are known vectors of human entero-pathogens as recent
research findings have provided substantial evidence of the isolation of
various human pathogens from these insects (Akintola A.J et al., 2013; Cotton M. et al.,
2000) suggested that cockroaches are possible vectors of Klebsiella pneumonia in the hospital environment.
Furthermore,
a comparative analysis of pathogenic organisms in cockroaches from different
socio-economic community settings in Edo state, Nigeria showed that organisms
such as Bacillus spp. Eschericha coli, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus
vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa,
Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidemidis, Enterococcus faecalis, Citrobacter freundii and Salmonella spp. can be harbored on the
body surface and alimentary track of cockroaches (Clement I. et al., 2014).
1.1 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
OF THE STUDY
The
aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of various pathogenic and
non-pathogenic microbial flora associated with the external body surfaces of
the housefly (Musca domestica) and
the American cockroach (Periplaneta
ameriacana) from different locations within the Umuahia capital city in
Abia state, Nigeria. The objectives are;
·
To isolate and identify
the various microbial species (bacteria, fungi and parasites) carried on the
external body surfaces of houseflies and the American cockroaches.
·
To enumerate their fungal
and bacterial loads as well to determine their parasitic density.
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