Hemidactylus frenatus (Wall gecko) is a reptile of the family Geckkonidae commonly found around human and animal settings. There is a growing concern that this reptile could transmit pathogenic bacteria to humans and animals because of its proximity to the host environment. This study was designed to evaluate the diversity and susceptibility pattern of medically important bacteria obtained from house geckos in Ilishan-Remo. Wall geckos were caught from different households. Bacteria were isolated from intestinal contents and identified based on partial 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Bacterial sensitivity to selected antibiotic classes was determined by agar diffusion. A total of 163 bacteria were obtained from 51 wall geckos, consisting of five genera; Hafnia (46), Klebsiella (18), Salmonella (43), Enterobacter (49), and Cedecea (7). Hafnia, Cedecea and Klebsiella species (100%) isolated were resistant to ceftazidime, cefuroxime, ofloxacin, and amoxicillin/clavulanate, Enterobacter species (100%) were resistant to ceftazidime, cefuroxime, ofloxacin, amoxicillin/clavulanate, nitrofurantoin, and cefixime while all Salmonella species were resistant to cefuroxime and amoxicillin/clavulanate. The results revealed the presence of medically important bacteria in household geckos with high spectrum of resistance to different antibiotic classes. Consequently, contamination of foods and household utensils with fecal droppings of wall geckos could be a possible source of bacterial infection to humans.
Key words: Geckos, Bacterial diversity, Antibiotics resistance, Faecal droppings
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