Raw milk and milk products are traditional staple diets that are popularly consumed by both rural and urban population of Northern Nigeria and many other parts of Africa. The aim of the study was to isolate E. coli from unpasteurised raw milk and milk products (Madara, Kindrimo, Nono and Manshanu) during the rainy and dry seasons in Abuja in order to ascertain the hygienic status of the dairy products. Three hundred unpasteurised raw milk and its products were collected in both rainy and dry seasons respectively. Escherichia coli was isolated by microbiological techniques and confirmed by Microbact™ (Oxiod™) GNB 24E System Identification Kit. Results showed that dry season had higher occurrence of E. coli (21, ) while occurrence during rainy season was (14, ). There was no statistically significant difference in occurrence of E. coli isolates during the two seasons (p> ). These ready to eat dairy products frequently harbor coliforms that indicates poor hygiene and insanitary conditions possibly during processing and cause infections that are of great public health importance. Educating the milk handlers on the importance of personal hygiene and proper sanitary methods is necessary. | Occurrence and seasonal variation of Escherichia coli isolated from unpasteurised raw milk and its products sold in Abuja Metropolis, Nigeria
