Assessment of the Microbial Content of Abattoir Effluents Discharged into Swali River, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State

One of the greatest concerns for the environment and human health is the discharge of untreated effluents from abattoirs into aquatic environments with high microbial load and harmful pathogens. In this work, the microbiological content of abattoir wastewater released into Swali River was studied. Five sampling points were selected inside the abattoir environment; process water point, slaughter point, butcher point, disposal point and discharge point. Standard microbiological techniques were used to enumerate, isolate and characterise bacterial and fungal pollutants. The overall heterotrophic bacteria count was 1.4 × 106 to 7.2 × 106 CFU/ml and the enteric bacteria counts were 3.1 × 106 to 5.4 × 106 CFU/ml. Fungal counts varied from 7 × 10 3 to 4.3 × 10 4 CFU/ml. The maximum heterotrophic bacterial count was detected at the slaughter site and the highest fungal load was seen at the butcher point. Morphological and biochemical characterisation revealed the presence of pathogenic bacterial species including Salmonella spp, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp, Proteus spp, Pseudomonas spp, Staphylococcus spp, Clostridium spp and Bacillus spp. The discovered fungal isolates included Aspergillus spp., Aspergillus flavus, Penicillium spp., Fusarium spp. and yeasts such as Candida spp. and Saccharomyces spp.The preponderance of enteric bacteria and opportunistic fungal pathogens in the effluents implies high level of microbial pollution linked with poor sanitary practices and poor waste management within the abattoir environment. The direct dumping of these contaminated effluents into the Swali River may add to environmental contamination and raise the risk of water-borne infections among communities who depend on the river for domestic and economic activity. Therefore, the study proposes that appropriate wastewater treatment systems, rigorous hygiene procedures and routine microbiological monitoring of abattoir operations should be implemented to protect environmental and public health.