Abstract:Escherichia coli were isolated from water from two boreholes in Ile Ife, Osun state, Nigeria. This was an
indication of faecal contamination. These strains of Escherichia coli were Gram negative short rods, Catalase
positive, Methyl red positive, Voges Proskaeur negative. The strains could ferment glucose galactose, sucrose,
lactose, mannitol and maltose with the production of acid and gas but could not hydrolyze starch. A particular strain
was resistant to sulfamethoxazole, ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, cephaloridine, streptomycin, carbenicillin,
sulfafurazole and tetracycline but sensitive to gentamicin, colistin, nalidixic acid, nitrofurantoin and colistin sulphat