Microbial Assessment of Swimming Pools from Selected Hotels in Osogbo Metropolis, Osun State, Nigeria

The presence of microorganisms in swimming pool water is of concern today and health threat because they have been shown to cause infections especially gastroenterititis infections with probable transfer of these organisms from swimmers into the swimming pool. The microbiological qualities of five swimming pools in Osogbo was studied for the wet and dry seasons. Bacterial isolates were identified based on morphological and biochemical methods with the aid of Bergey’s Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. The Fungal isolates were identified using lactophenol cotton blue method. The heterotrophic bacterial population count in swimming pool water samples ranged from 1.7 x102 cfu/ml to 3.6 x 102 cfu/ml to 5.2 x 102 cfu/ml. A total of 43 bacterial species which belonged to seven genera, and comprising Pseudomonas sp, Klebsiella sp, Aeromonas sp, Citrobacter sp, Shigella sp, Proteus sp and Staphylococcus aureus were isolated. The fungal population during the study ranged between 1.2x 102 cfu/ml and 3.9x102 cfu/ml. Twenty five (25) fungi species which belonged to ten genera including Absidia cylindrospora, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus repens, Cephalosporium corda Cladosporium, Fusarium sp, Monotospora altissima, Penicillium citrinum, Schizophyta minuta and Trichophyton sp were isolated. The coliforms isolated were Shigella dysentriae, Shigella paradysentriae, Shigella sonnei and Citrobacter freundii. The isolates were resistant to augmentin (95.3%), cotrimoxazole (93.7%), amoxicillin and nitrofurantoin (83.7%), tetracycline (72.1%), gentamicin (62.8%) and ofloxacin, (0%). The study concluded that swimming pools are contaminated with different microbial organisms of potential diseases with capable of causing diseases/infections or potentially pathogenic to man, and this requires adequate care and proper monitoring of swimming pools.