Antimicrobial and Herbal Drug Resistance in Enteric Bacteria Isolated from Faecal Droppings of Common House Lizard/Gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus)

From 194 faecal dropping samples of common house geckos collected from offices (60), houses (88), integrated farm units (IFS,18) and hostels, guest houses, and dining rooms of different canteen/mess (HGM, 28), 326 bacterial isolates of enteric bacteria belonging to 17 genera and 34 species were detected. Escherichia coli were the most frequently (39) isolated followed by Citrobacter freundii (33), Klebsiella pneumonia (27), Salmonella indica (12), Enterobacter gergoviae (12), and Ent. agglomerans (11). Other important bacteria isolated from gecko droppings were Listonella damsela (2), Raoultella terrigena (3), S. salamae (2), S. houtenae (3), Edwardsiella tarda (4), Edwardsiella hoshinae (1), and Klebsiella oxytoca (2). Of the 223 isolates tested for antimicrobial drug sensitivity, 27 (12.1%) had multiple drug resistance (MDR). None of the salmonellae or edwardsiellae had MDR however, MDR strains were significantly more common among Escherichia spp. ( ) and isolates from IFS units ( ). The most effective herbal drug, Ageratum conyzoides extract, inhibited growth of only 27.8% of strains tested followed by ethanolic extract of Zanthoxylum rhetsa (13.9%), eucalyptus oil (5.4%), patchouli oil (5.4%), lemongrass oil (3.6%), and sandalwood oil (3.1%), and Artemisia vulgaris essential oil (3.1%). 1. Introduction In most parts of the world house wall lizards are common. In the Jharnapani area, common house gecko (Hemidactylus frenatus) is found everywhere in houses, in animal sheds, in offices, and so forth. Geckos are often reported as carriers of many zoonotic enteropathogens including nontyphoidal salmonellae [1–5], Citrobacter freundii, C. Intermedius, Erwinia herbicola, Enterobacter cloacae [2, 5], Shigella sonnei, Edwardsiella tarda, Enterobacter species, Serratia marcescens, Proteus spp., Klebsiella pneumonia, and Escherichia coli [5]. Researchers have suspected that lizards have a role as reservoirs in spread and emergence of drug resistant bacteria [2, 4, 5]. However, most of the studies on enteropathogens of public health significance in lizards have been conducted through collecting lizards, euthanizing them, and then collecting their intestinal contents, determining the presence of bacteria. Enteric diseases often spread through contamination of environment with the faeces of patients loaded with the pathogens. Insects often try to scavenge on patients’ excreta, and those insects that are eaten by house geckos may be sources of different pathogens in lizard intestine and may be detected in lizards’ intestine [2, 5]. The question we asked was what