ANTIMICROBIAL EFFECTIVENESS OF GUT MICROBIOTA AGAINST MICROORGANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS AMONG SYMPTOMATIC STUDENTS OF NIGER DELTA UNIVERSITY, NIGERIA

Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) is one of the major causes of morbidity in patients, mostly due to resistance development among the uropathogens which frustrate chemotherapy. This study was carried out between March and October, 2021 to determine the Antimicrobial activity of GUT microbiota on bacteria causing urinary tract infection. A total of 72 Mid Stream Urine (MSU) samples, males (18/72, 25%) ; female (54/72,75%), collected at random from Niger Delta University students attending University hospital showing the symptoms of urinary tract infection, were cultured and analyzed using Cysteine Lactose Electrolyte Deficient agar (CLED) and Nutrient Agar. The standardized pure isolates with 0.5 McFarland turbidity standard were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using six (6) Gut microbiota. The findings showed 100% prevalence of UTI on the study subjects with females preponderance over males. The total number of isolates were 154 [males (36,23.4%); female (118,76.6%), comprise of Escherichia coli (58/154, 37.7%), Staphylococcus saprophyticus (42/154 , 27.3%), Proteus mirabilis (18/154, 11.7%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (18/154, 11.7%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (12/154 , 7.8%), and Staphylococcus aureus (6/154 , 3.9%). Of 154 uropathogens subjected to gut microbiota ( Gut Escherichia coli 1, Gut Escherichia coli 2, Gut Escherichia coli 3, Gut Escherichia coli 4,Gut Escherichia coli 5 and Gut Salmonella spp 6) for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, 30/154 (19.56%) were susceptible; with percentage susceptibility of 33.3, 23.8, 22.2, 17.2 and 11.1 for uropathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis respectively. All Staphylococcus aureus uropathogens showed resistance to all the test gut microbiota in this study. In conclusion, this study has revealed the potential antimicrobial activities of gut microbiota against uropathogens with the exception of Staphylococcus aureus, therefore the pharmaceutical industries are compelled to incorporate these gut microorganisms into their formulation in drug production for the treatment of urinary tract infection. Further studies are advised, however, gut microbiota are potential probiotics for the treatment of urinary tract infection.