Resumen
Air sampling of Onyearugbulem and FUTA abattoirs was carried out to evaluate their quality. Air sampling was done using the open-settling method on general and selective agar media of the gutter, sleeping bench, slaughtering floor dumpsite, slaughtering table and roof of the abattoirs. Using standard methods, Presumptive identification of the bacterial isolates was carried out. An array of ten (10) conventional antibiotics was used to assay the antibiotic susceptibility characteristics of the bacterial isolates. Multiple antibiotic sensitivity index (MARI) was determined for isolated bacteria. At Onyearugbulem abattoir, the total Escherichia coli count ranged from 3.6×10 cfu/ml from the gutter and slaughtering table to 6.5×10 cfu/ml from the slaughtering floor, while the total bacterial count ranged from 1.34×102 cfu/ml from dumpsite to 2.55×102 cfu/ml from the gutter, the total coliform count ranged from 2.8× 10 cfu/ml from slaughtering floor to 4.1×10 cfu/ml from sleeping bench. Several bacteria were presumptively isolated. These include: Micrococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Proteus sp., Enterobacter aerogenes and Aeromonas sp. Ciprofloxacin (10 µg) had an inhibitory effect on all the Gram positive bacterial isolates with the highest inhibitory activity on S. aureus at 24.00 mm, and the Gram negative bacteria with the highest inhibitory activity on E. coli at 21.00 mm. Micrococcus sp. had the highest MARI of 0.8. These findings reveal the presence of multiple-antibiotic resistant bacteria in Onyearugbulem and FUTA abattoirs? atmosphere. There is therefore need for routine environmental sanitation of the slaughterhouses.