Author(s)

Okwelle AA^*, Amadi-Ikpa CN

Affiliation(s)

Department of Biology, Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences, Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Rumuolumeni, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.

Corresponding Author

Okwelle AA

ABSTRACT

The study aimed at evaluating microbes associated with beard hair and their spore formation features, following the significance of spore dispersal and the trend observed with beard keeping. Fifty (50) beard hair samples were collected from adult male volunteers, who subjected them-self for swab collection exercise. Thereafter, the study employed a spread plate and spore stain microbiological procedures for isolation of isolates and determination of spore features respectively. The result showed a mean count of 8 x 10³, 2.1 x 10³, and 1.5 x 10³ cfu/ml for Heterotrophic bacteria, Staphylococcal and Heterotrophic fungal respectively. Statistically, the counts showed a significant difference exist at 0.05. The isolates were characterized and identified as Staphylococcus aureus, Aspergillus spp., Cladosporium spp., Bacillus spp., Conidiophores spp. and Aspergillus spp. On spore formation capacity, Bacillus spp. and Aspergillus niger produced or formed spores. The recoveries of these microbes may be due to deficient sterilization and the persistence of spore. The study concludes that microbes and spores they form persist in beard hair even after possible treatment, thus the study recommends regular beard hair hygiene and the use of therapeutic agents on the beard hair to prevent the evasion of Bacillus spp. and Aspergillus spp. spores.

KEYWORDS

Microbes; Beard hair; Spore formation; Spore dispersal

CITE THIS PAPER

Okwelle AA, Amadi-Ikpa CN. Microbes associated with beard hair and their spore formation capacity. World Journal of Biomedical Sciences. 2024, 2(2): 14-19. DOI: 10.61784/wjbs3001.

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