Screening of Antimicrobial Residue in Commercial Eggs in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State

The objectives of the study were to screen for antimicrobial residue in table eggs in Maiduguri metropolis. Multistage sampling technique was used based on the 4 major district of Maiduguri Metropolis Viz; Bolori, Gwange, Kyarimi park and Shehuri North. Four hundred commercial egg samples were collected for the study. One hundred and sixteen table eggs were sampled from 35 randomly selected poultry layer farms and 284 were obtained from 37 randomly selected egg commercial retail outlets. The antimicrobial screening of eggs was carried out using the disc diffusion method where Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 from spectra medics' laboratory in Ogun state was used as the test organism. One hundred and sixteen (116) table eggs collected from farms across the study district, 36 (31%) were each from Bolori and Gwange, 39 (33.6%) from Kyarimi Park and 5 (4.3%) from Shehuri North. A total of 49 positive samples were obtained which include 17 (47.2%), 21 (58.3%), 10 (25.6%) and 1 (20%) from Bolori, Gwange, Kyarimi Park and Shehuri North respectively (Fig. 2). There was no significant difference (P=0.095) among the clusters. Out of the 284 egg samples collected from the retail outlet, 201 (70.1%) samples were from Jos and 83 (29.2%) from Ibadan. A total of 100 (35.2%) samples were positives for antimicrobial screening which comprises of 71 (35.32%) and 29 (34.94%) from Jos and Ibadan respectively. With no significant difference between the two sources (P=0.902). From this study, it was concluded that: There is small flock size (backyard) farm in Maiduguri with 94.3% of the farmers holding equal or less than 500 birds in their farms. Antimicrobial residue detected in the study area is alarming.