Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Prevalence and Antibiotic Susceptibility of Gram-negative Aerobic Bacteria Cultured from the Intestine and Hepatopancreas of Blue Land Crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) in Grenada, West Indies

Victor A. Amadi, Ross Peterson, Vanessa Matthew-Belmar, Ravindra Sharma, Harry Hariharan

Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 169–179 · Published 4 Oct 2014

10.9734/BMRJ/2015/13620

Abstract

Aim: To evaluate the prevalence of aerobic bacteria associated with the intestine and hepatopancreas of blue land crab and the susceptibility of the bacteria to a panel of antimicrobials that included some drugs used for the treatment of bacterial infections in the human and veterinary clinics in Grenada. Study Design: The tested crabs were collected during a three month period from November 2011 to February 2012 from six parishes of Grenada and analyzed in the bacteriology lab in the Pathobiology Department, School of Veterinary medicine, St. George’s University, Grenada, West Indies. Methodology: A total of 65 blue land crabs were examined for the presence of Gram-negative aerobic bacteria in their intestines and hepatopancreas by culture. The isolated bacterial species were tested against 12 antibiotics using the disc diffusion method. Results: Eighty-nine percent of crabs were culture positive. Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common species (60%), followed by Citrobacter freundii (28%), Enterobacter cloacae (17%), Salmonella spp. (17%), and Escherichia coli (12%). Vibrio isolates included V. alginolyticus (8%), V. parahaemolyticus (5%), and V. fluvialis (3%). Antimicrobial susceptibility tests against 12 drugs showed susceptibility of all K. pneumoniae, C. freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, and Escherichia coli isolates to enrofloxacin, gentamicin, and imipenem. Resistance to ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was ≤ 7%. All K. pneumoniae isolates were resistant to ampicillin, and all C. freundii isolates were resistant to cephalothin. Resistance to tetracycline was highest (33%) in E. cloacae, and ≤ 13% in the other three major species. Susceptibility of Salmonella serotypes has been published, and no resistance was seen among any of the isolates. Conclusion: This study showed that the blue land crabs of Grenada, commonly used as food, can serve as reservoirs of potential human pathogens, and may carry bacteria resistant to antimicrobial drugs used for treatment in human medicine.

Klebsiella pneumonia Salmonella Enterobacter cloacae ciprofloxacin tetracycline Vibrio St. George’s

References (37)

  1. 1 Klebsiella spp. as Nosocomial Pathogens: Epidemiology, Taxonomy, Typing Methods, and Pathogenicity Factors [DOI]
  2. 2 Susceptibility Test Methods: Dilution and Disk Diffusion Methods [DOI]
  3. 3 Enterobacter cloacae Complex: Clinical Impact and Emerging Antibiotic Resistance [DOI]
  4. 4 Global Dissemination of Vibrio parahaemolyticus Serotype O3:K6 and Its Serovariants [DOI]
  5. 5 On the Bacteriological Examination of Shirasu-Food Poisoning.
  6. 6 The Role of Citrobacter in Clinical Disease of Children: Review [DOI]
  7. 7 Vibrio parahaemolyticusDiarrhea, Chile, 1998 and 2004 [DOI]
  8. 8 VerotoxinogenicCitrobacter freundiiassociated with severe gastroenteritis and cases of haemolytic uraemic syndrome in a nursery school: green butter as the infection source [DOI]
  9. 9 Characterization of a Vibrio alginolyticus Strain, Isolated from Alaskan Oysters, Carrying a Hemolysin Gene Similar to the Thermostable Direct Hemolysin-Related Hemolysin Gene ( trh ) of Vibrio parahaemolyticus [DOI]
  10. 10 Bacterial Flora of the Hemolymph of the Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus : Numerical Taxonomy [DOI]
  11. 11 Comparison of antimicrobial susceptibility of Citrobacter freundii isolates in two different time periods.
  12. 12 Spontaneous Citrobacter freundii Infection in an Immunocompetent Patient [DOI]
  13. 13 Bacteria associated with crabs from cold waters with emphasis on the occurrence of potential human pathogens [DOI]
  14. 14 Antimicrobial drug resistance as determined by the E-test in Campylobacter jejuni, C. coli, and C. lari isolates from the ceca of broiler and layer chickens in Grenada [DOI]
  15. 15 Aerobic bacteria from mucous membranes, ear canals, and skin wounds of feral cats in Grenada, and the antimicrobial drug susceptibility of major isolates [DOI]
  16. 16 Potential Pathogens in the Environment: Klebsiella pneumoniae , a Taxonomic and Ecological Enigma [DOI]
  17. 17 Vibrio parahaemolyticus from the Blue Crab Callinectes sapidus in Chesapeake Bay [DOI]
  18. 18 Vibrio parahaemolyticus Gastroenteritis in Maryland: Laboratory Aspects [DOI]
  19. 19 Isolation of Klebsielleae from within living wood [DOI]
  20. 20 VIBRIO PARAHÆMOLYTICUS GASTROENTERITIS AND INTERNATIONAL AIR TRAVEL [DOI]
  21. 21 Clinical features and antimicrobial susceptibility trends in Citrobacter freundii bacteremia.
  22. 22 Capture and commercialization of blue land crabs ("guaiamum") Cardisoma guanhumi (Lattreille, 1825) along the coast of Bahia State, Brazil: an ethnoecological approach [DOI]
  23. 23 Prevalence of Salmonella spp. in Cane Toads (Bufo marinus) from Grenada, West Indies, and their Antimicrobial Susceptibility [DOI]
  24. 24 Antimicrobial Resistance and Phylogenetic Groups of Commensal Escherichia Coli Isolates from Healthy Pigs in Grenada
  25. 25 Prevalence, Serovars, and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Salmonella Isolated from Blue Land Crabs (Cardisoma guanhumi) in Grenada, West Indies [DOI]
  26. 26 Bacteriological Survey of the Blue Crab Industry [DOI]
  27. 27 Bacteria Associated with Wild Mud Crab (Scylla serrata) from Setiu Wetland, Malaysia with Emphasis on Antibiotic Resistances [DOI]
  28. 28 Antimicrobial drug resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from commercial chicken eggs in Grenada, West Indies.
  29. 29 Crab meat: a novel vehicle for E. coli O157 identified in an outbreak in South West England, August 2011 [DOI]
  30. 30 A Comparison of Different Processing Methods for Picked Blue Crab (Callinectes sapidus) [DOI]
  31. 31 Antimicrobial susceptibility of clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from dogs in Grenada
  32. 32 Isolation of Vibrio parahaemolyticus from the Processed Meat of Chesapeake Bay Blue Crabs [DOI]
  33. 33 Phenotypic characteristics of coliform and noncoliform bacteria from a public water supply compared with regional and national clinical species [DOI]
  34. 34 Klebsiella pneumoniae gastroenteritis masked by Clostridium perfringens [DOI]
  35. 35 Antimicrobial drug resistance and genetic diversity if commensal Escherichia coli from caeca of chickens in Grenada
  36. 36 Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria causing ventilator-associated pneumonia in a tertiary care hospital: one year prospective study [DOI]
  37. 37 Study on drug resistance and molecular characteristics of Citrobacter.

Cited by 15

Observing the Impact of Confinement on the Rearing of Land Crabs

J. Obubuafo, G. D. Doku, Mawutor K. Glover · 2020

Campylobacter Species Isolated from Pigs in Grenada Exhibited Novel Clones: Genotypes and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Sequence Types

Victor A. Amadi, Vanessa Matthew-Belmar, C. Subbarao · Foodborne pathogens and disease · 2017

An overview of food safety and bacterial foodborne zoonoses in food production animals in the Caribbean region

M. Guerra, A. D. de Almeida, A. Willingham · Tropical Animal Health and Production · 2016

Shellfish as reservoirs of bacterial pathogens

H. Hariharan, Victor A. Amadi · 2016

Showing 8 of 15 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

69

Page views

0

PDF downloads

49

Outbound clicks

15

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.