The
pilot study determines the potential
role of bacterial
contamination of
egg surfaces at the
time of
oviposition and in the
sand of the nesting
chambers in lowering hatchability. A total of 15 species of
bacteria were isolated from 20
eggs and 17
sand samples of
egg nests, with little overlap in the species spectrum between
eggs and
sand . The most frequent
bacteria found on the
egg surface were
Pseudomonas spp. followed by
Citrobacter spp.,
Enterobacter cloacae and
Morganella morganii , whereas from
sand samples most frequent isolates were
Bacillus spp. followed by
Enterobacter spp. and
Pseudomonas spp. All 15 isolated species are considered opportunistic pathogens, and could be potential causes for the reported lower hatchability. These pathogens also constitute a
public health risk when
eggs are consumed by
humans . The majority of isolates showed
antibiotic drug resistance , indicating
environmental pollution .