Abstract            Volume:4  Issue-10  Year-2016         Original Research Articles

Online ISSN : 2347 - 3215 Issues : 12 per year Publisher : Excellent Publishers Email : editorijcret@gmail.com

Two hundred and fifty five samples were collected from food (N= 210), surface water (N=20) and soil (N=25) at Basrah Governate/Iraq. Samples were cultured on the selective medium Mannitol-Egg Yolk Polymyxin B Agar (MYPA). Identification was confirmed by Gram staining, biochemical tests and resistance to penicillin. B. cereus was recovered from sixty six samples: Fifty two (24.76%) from food and fourteen (31.1%) from environmental sources. The highest percentage recovery of B. cereus was from soil (36%), followed by infant milk (30%) and the least was from white cheese and raw vegetables (20% each). More than 80% of B. cereus isolates from all sources were resistant to carbencillin, cephalothin and ampicillin. The least resistance was against erythromycin, gentamycin, chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid and sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. Of sixty six B cereus identified in food and environment samples; fifty isolates (75.7%) were found resistant demonstrating eight patterns of resistance ranging from one to all antibiotics.

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