Infestation of fish-culturing communities with fish-borne bacteria: the Ghanaian case.

Twenty different bacterial species were isolated from fishermen and members of communities associated with seven fish ponds with different fertilizer treatments, and an open system. The number and types of the bacterial species were different for the different ponds. Generally, neither the geographical location of the ponds nor the type of fertilizer used could be related to the bacterial flora. Escherichia coli was the predominant species in all the communities, while Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas sp., Shigella sp. or Streptococcus faecalis were common in individuals of communities of sewage-fed pond.