Objective: Soil is a significant reservoir for enteric bacteria and other pathogenic bacteria, as it is a frequent recipient of waste materials. The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of enteric bacteria from various soil samples collected in Nairobi and environs and to compare their drug susceptibility profile with those from clinical samples. Methods: Soil samples were collected from randomly selected GPS coordinates in Nairobi within a radius of 30km from Nairobi city center. Ten grams of each of the soil samples were serially diluted then plated on Mueller-Hinton agar and incubated at 30°Centigrade overnight, the colonies were Gram stained and the Gram-negative colonies inoculated on Analytic Profile Index kit for further identification. Antibiotic sensitivity testing was done and the results compared with that of clinical isolates. Results: Out of the soil samples (n=236) inoculated onto Mueller-Hinton agar, 17 (7.2% prevalence) were positive for Proteus salmonicida. Other isolated Gram negative bacteria were Myroides spp, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophila and Alcaligenes spp. Proteus salmonicida showed a higher sensitivity to the antibiotics compared to the clinical Proteus except for Cefotaxime antibiotic which was resistant to it. Conclusion: Soil may be a significant a reservoir of drug resistant enteric bacteria contributing to antibiotic resistance as indicated by Proteus salmonicida resistance to Cefotaxime antibiotic, compared to Proteus species from the clinical source.
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