Abstract

A comparative study of the Microbial load of two palaemonid prawns and water samples of Ovia river, Edo state were analysed using standard methods. Total viable microbial count ranged between 1.62 x 10⁵ and 5.58 x 10⁵cfu/g in all samples. The highest mean bacteria count 3.27x 10⁵cfu/g was found in the gills of M. felicinum while the lowest mean count 1.27 x 10⁵cfu/g was found in the tissue and carapace of M. felicinum and M. vollenhovenii respectively. The highest mean fungi count 3.68 x 10⁵cfu/g was  found in the gills of M. vollenhorenii while the lowest mean count  3.47 x 10⁴cfu/g were in the tissues of M. felicinum.  Significant differences (P<0.05) were observed between body parts of prawns. A total of 81 isolates were identified as Bacteria, Fungi and Yeast. The bacteria isolates include Micrococcus sp, Proteus sp, Streptococcus sp, Bacillus sp, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella sp, Staphylococcus aureus while fungi isolates include Aspergillus niger, Penicillium sp, Aspergillus flavus, Rhizopus sp, Mucor sp and Saccharomyces sp. M. vollenhovenii was observed to be more polluted while M. felicinum had more pathogenic organisms. The prawn environment is highly polluted and the fisherfolks contributed to the high microbial counts due to their improper hygienic practices.

Key Words: Microbial load, M. vollenhovenii, M. felicinum, Ovia River

DOI: https://ejesm.org/doi/v10i7.2