Presumptive Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolated in Drinking Water and Soil Sources from Kadamaian, Sabah

Multi-drug-resistant Escherichia coli poses a great threat to human health. E. coli is often used as fecal indicator bacteria to study the sources and fate of fecal contamination in the environment. This study focused on water and soil samples in tourist parks around Kadamaian, Kota Belud from three different villages of Kampung Napungguk, Kampung Pinalabuh and Kampung Tinata. From 23 of tested presumptive E. coli isolates, the percentage of antimicrobial-resistant against a series of antibiotic concentrations ranging from 25, 50, 100 to 500 g/ml showed resistance towards Chloramphenicol (91.3%), Penicillin (82.6%), Tetracycline (73.9%) and Kanamycin (30.43%). This finding suggested the presence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) of presumptive E. coli from soil samples of Kampung Napungguk and Kampung Tinata. This study alarms the presence of MDR which need further research on identifying the bacterial strains using molecular methods. The findings can then be used to create awareness of potential disease outbreaks in the tourist areas.