Antibiotic Resistance of Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Broiler Meat in Morocco

Abstract

The spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) enterobacteria worldwide is a major public health threat. Resistant to at least three classes of antibiotics, MDR enterobacteria cause infections that escape first-line treatment. Escherichia coli is the most frequently isolated bacterium in poultry industry. We followed the pattern and trend of antibiotic resistance of strains of E. coli isolated from poultry meat destined for human consumption sold in Morocco during the period 2016-2018, and thus detected strains that would be multidrug-resistant (MDR). In this study we investigated the resistance of 240 strains of E. coli isolated from poultry meat to 13 antibiotics by using the agar diffusion susceptibility test method. Results showed high resistance to ciprofloxacins (87.5%), tetracycline (75%), trimethomprime-sulfametoxazole (3rd generation) (70.8%), nalidixic acid (62.5%) and cefotaxime (50%), ampicillin (45.8%); and we detected low resistance to gentamicin (29.1%). In total, 50 isolated strains of E. coli (20.8%) have shown MDR. These results are useful to practicing veterinarians trying to avoid therapeutic failures and constitute an important database for pharmacovigilance and epidemiological surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in the country.