Abstract
Aim:Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat. This study investigated the prevalence of Escherichia coli in imported 1-day-old chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults.Materials and Methods:The liver, heart, lungs, and yolk sacs of 148 imported batches of 1-day-old flocks (chicks, 45; ducklings, 63; and turkey poults, 40) were bacteriologically examined for the presence of E. coli.Results:We isolated 38 E. coli strains from 13.5%, 6.7%, and 5.4% of imported batches of 1-day-old chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults, respectively. They were serotyped as O91, O125, O145, O78, O44, O36, O169, O124, O15, O26, and untyped in the imported chicks; O91, O119, O145, O15, O169, and untyped in the imported ducklings; and O78, O28, O29, O168, O125, O158, and O115 in the imported turkey poults. The E. coli isolates were investigated for antibiotic resistance against 16 antibiotics using the disk diffusion method and were found resistant to cefotaxime (60.5%), nalidixic acid (44.7%), tetracycline (44.7%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (42.1%). The distribution of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and ampC β-lactamase genes was blaTEM (52.6%), blaSHV (28.9%), blaCTX-M (39.5%), blaOXA-1 (13.1%), and ampC (28.9%).Conclusion:Imported 1-day-old poultry flocks may be a potential source for the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant E. coli and the ESBL genes in poultry production.
Highlights
The global spread of antibiotic-resistant b acteria poses a potential threat to public health
They were serotyped as O91, O125, O145, O78, O44, O36, O169, O124, O15, O26, and untyped in the imported chicks; O91, O119, O145, O15, O169, and untyped in the imported ducklings; and O78, O28, O29, O168, O125, O158, and O115 in the imported turkey poults
The E. coli isolates were investigated for antibiotic resistance against 16 antibiotics using the disk diffusion method and were found resistant to cefotaxime (60.5%), nalidixic acid (44.7%), tetracycline (44.7%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (42.1%)
Summary
The global spread of antibiotic-resistant b acteria poses a potential threat to public health. The global spread of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) genes plays an essential role in the development of antibiotic resistance, which can be transmitted to humans through the consumption of animals for food, such as poultry, or by direct contact with contaminated poultry and their byproducts [2]. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated
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