Prevalence of Gut pH and Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli in Dahi of Chattogram Metropolitan area, Bangladesh

Abstract

Dahi is one of the most popular fermented dairy products in Bangladesh, which could pose public health concern due to their indiscriminate preparation and vending scheme. To address this issue, the present study was carried out to investigate the prevalence of gut pH and antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli, a potential public health concerned bacteria in dahi; sampled from randomly selected retail shops of Chattogram metropolitan area from May to October, 2019. Dahi samples were analyzed at the laboratory of Poultry Research and Training Centre in Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Bangladesh. All the samples were inoculated on different bacteriological media for the confirmation of the isolates. The results revealed that Escherichia coli were not found in all dahi samples. Therefore, gut pH and antibiotic resistance could not be observed. The absence of E. coli in dahi samples in this study could possibly due to the boiled milk used for the preparation of dahi and it could also be successively developed acidity of dahi formation. The absence of E. coli is also a indication of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) employed by the producers and handlers. Present study revealed that the dahi collected from selected areas were of acceptable quality in term of gut microorganisms.