Multi-drug resistant phenotypes of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli from layer chickens

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing and emerging public health problem worldwide. This research determines the occurrence of ESBL E. coli and antimicrobial resistance profiles of E. coli on eggshells from selected layer chickens. The shells of 270 egg samples were swabbed to detect the presence of E. coli. E. coli isolates were recovered from 73(23%) of the 270 samples collected. The isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing using six panel antibiotics (ampicillin, tetracycline, sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim, gentamicin, imipenem, and ciprofloxacin) using the disk diffusion method. The isolates showed the highest resistance to Ampicillin 95.9%, closely followed by tetracycline 89%, sulphamethoxazole-trimethoprim 72%, gentamicin 41.1%, and imipenem 1.4%. Also, 78% of the isolates were multi-drug resistant. A 56/73 (76.7%) out of seventy-three isolates were screened as presumptive ESBL-E. coli by culture on ESBL CHROM agar and 42/56 (75%) of the isolates yielded ESBL-producing E. coli based on the production of ESBL by double disc diffusion method. The questionnaire survey results showed that all farms used antimicrobial agents for therapeutic or prophylactic purposes. Also, not all the farms had suitable biosecurity measures. The findings of this study indicated that eggshells are potential reservoirs for multi-drug resistant E. coliand ESBL-Producing E. coli.