Prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Clinical Samples and its sensitivity to Citrus Extract

The prevalence of selected pathogens in four hundred and ninety eight samples of ear, wound swabs and urine samples submitted to the Microbiological Laboratory of Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa, Nigeria was investigated. In ear infections, Pseudomonas aeruginosa predominated (50%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus (30%) and others (20%). In wound swabs, S. aureus predominated (46.3%), P. aeruginosa(16%). Other bacteria isolated included Klebsiella spp, Proteus spp and Escherichia coli accounting for 18%. In urine, S. aureus and E. coli were more frequently isolated with 49% and 23% respectfully. The antibiogram studies showed that P. aeruginosa, was highly sensitive to Ciprotab, Perflotab and Gentamycin except Pseudomonas isolates from wounds which were resistant to Gentamycin. The isolates were resistant to Streptomycin, Ampicillin and Cotrimoxazole (septrin). Citrus juice - C. aurantifolia (Lime) and C. limon (Lemon) on P. aeruginosa gave positive results with lethal effects on the test organisms with zones of inhibition ranging from 7mm-22mm in diameter around the colonies.