Bacterial contamination of retailed syrups traded in Wukari, North East, Nigeria

There is an increasing concern that syrups may contain pathogenic or non-pathogenic microbes that can pose as public health risk to patients. This research was to investigate the bacterial contamination of retailed syrups sold in Wukari. Eighteen (18) different brands of syrups were collected from different medicine stores in Wukari, North East Nigeria. These various brands of syrups were taken to the Microbiology Laboratory, Federal University Wukari for analysis using standard bacteriological techniques. The results show that syrups samples with contaminants included the M & B paracetamol, Emzor paracetamol, M & B flagyl (Loxagyl), Emzor Chloroquin, M & B Antimalarial preparation (Artelumex), Emzor cough syrup (Emzolyn), Emzor digestion syrup (Emtrisil), Jawa digestion syrup (Jawasil), Emzor multivitamin (Emvite), Tuyil pharmacy multivitamin (Vami-vite), Emzor blood tonic, and Jawa blood tonic while those that contained no contaminants included the Emzor flagyl(Emgyl), M & B chloroquin(Vinaquin), Emzor antimalarial preparation (Lokmal), Jawa cough syrup(D-Koff), Emzor vitamin c and Tuyil pharmacy vitamin C. The researched revealed that twelve (12) of the syrups were contaminated with bacteria isolates of Bacillus spp 9 (45%), Lactobacillus spp 5 (25%), Proteus spp 2 (10%), Staphylococcus aureus 2 (10%), Pseudomonas spp 1 (5%) and Klebsiella spp 1 (5%). The presence of the isolates could possibly be as a result of the production process and improper handling and protection of the containers containing the products. It is therefore recommended that monitoring agencies should ensure that these syrups do not present health hazards to the public during production and retail of products.