Occurrences of Antimicrobial Resistance in <i>Escherichia coli</i> Isolated from Intestinal Faecal Contents of <i>Covurs splendens</i> (Indian Crow)

Abstract

<i>Introduction</i>: Indian crows have been commented to present significant physical community harm with respect to property damage and agricultural products. However the public health significant of these birds in the developing countries has been underrated. Their scavenging nature might result into spread of pathogens in the public as well as the antimicrobial traits among bacteria. In order to gain the insight into the role of Indian crows as carriers and reservoir of multi-resistant E. coli; broad spectrum antimicrobial agents were tested using a wild E. coli isolated from the birds themselves. <i>Methods</i>: The <i>Escherichia coli</i> bacteria were isolated and identified from intestinal contents of 30 Indian crows in Morogoro. An 100μl Intestinal contents were spread on MacConkey for <i>E. coli</i> isolation. A total of eight (8) antimicrobial agents: STX (25 μg), AMP (10 μg), AMC (30 μg), CN (10 μg), CIP (5 μg), TE (30 μg), S (10 μg) and CTX (30 μg) were used. <i>E. coli</i> ATCC 25922 and included as control strains. <i>Results</i>: The resistance TE and SXT were the most prevalent (90%), followed by AMP (76.7%) and S (73.3%), CIP (53.3%), and CTX (36.7%). The susceptibility of these isolates was high in CN 96.7%. It also shown among 30 of the <i>E. coli</i> isolates; twenty-eight of them presented multiple antibiotic resistances. <i>Conclusion</i>: The results have shown that Indian crow can serve as a reservoir of antibiotic-resistant <i>E. coli</i>, and potentially transmit such <i>E. coli</i> over long distances. This is a hidden public health threat as these crows move from one place to another and is found in residential areas contaminating water and food with resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance strains.