Bacterial contamination of Lactuca sativa, Spinacia olerencea and Brassica olerencea in Kano Metropolis

Abstract

The study was conducted to determine various bacterial species responsible for the contamination of leafy vegetables in Kano metropolis. Three leafy vegetable samples namely; Brassica olerencea (cabbage), Lactuca sativa (Lettuce) and Spinacia olerenceae (Spinach) were obtained from different markets. Bacterial species isolated were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus and Streptococcus spps. The results have shown that out of the samples examined Staphylococcus sp accounts for a high percentage of occurrences with 42.5% followed by Escherichia coli having 27.9%, then Pseudomonas aeruginosa with 22% and 7.5% for Streptococcus which has been the least. Therefore, consumption of these types of vegetables unhygienically paves way for ingestion of considerable numbers of human pathogenic bacteria. This ultimately results in establishment and manifestation of diseases in the final host.