1ST INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL RECORDS CONGRESS , 3 - 05 December 2021, pp.30-32
Aim: This work; This study was carried out to investigate the Enterococcus carriage, which is an indicator of fecal pollution, of
Mediterranean mussels caught on the shoreline of the Dardanelles Strait.
Material and Methods: Between June 2020 and November 2020, Mediterranean mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) were caught
from six stations determined on the shoreline of the Dardanelles Strait. Samples of 10 grams (4-5 mussels) were prepared from their
soft tissues under aseptic conditions. Mussel samples were homogenized in a stomacher bag with 1/9 sterile peptone water for
microbiological analysis. 0.1 ml of the homogenate was planted on Bile Esculin Agar medium by the spread plate method. Colonies
that turned black after 24 hours of incubation at 35oC were passed through a single colony on 5% sheep blood agar. Gram stain,
catalase, PYR tests were performed. Resistance of strains to vancomycin was investigated by disk diffusion method.
Results: Enterococcus were isolated from mussels caught from four stations except two. None of the 21 enterococci strains examined
were resistant to vancomycin. Twenty of the isolates were found susceptible to Ampicillin (10µg), and one isolate was resistant. Of the
enterococci isolated from mussels, 20 were identified as Enterococcus faecalis and one as Enterococcus faecium.
Conclusion: The normal habitat of enterococci is the intestines of humans and animals. The isolation of these bacteria in mussels,
which are biological indicators, shows that there is fecal contamination in sea water of some coastal areas. Measures should be taken
to prevent the spread of infectious microorganisms and antibiotic resistant strains to the environment through fecal contamination,
wastewater, discharge, etc.
Keywords: Fecal pollution, Enterococcus, Mytilus galloprovincialis, Vancomycin.