Prevalence of multi-drug resistant (MDR) enteric bacteria in milk and milk products

Abstract

Samples of milk and milk products from various dairies were examined from the presence of enteric bacteria. Escherichia coli , Salmonella typhi , Shigella dysenteriae , Shigella flexneriae , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Proteus vulgaris and Vibrio cholerae were detected in different milk products. Maximum incidence of enteric bacteria was encountered in raw milk (100%) followed by pasteurized milk (64%), curd (48%), cream (36%) and flavoured milk (28%) samples with the predominant incidence of E. coli , S. typhi , S. dysenteriae , V. cholerae , Sh. flexneriae , Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus vulgaris . The enteric isolates also showed multi-drug resistance (MDR) towards the different class of antibiotics tested. Maximum MDR was observed with the isolates of K. pneumoniae (100%) followed by E. coli (65%), S. typhi (50%), S. dysenteriae (40%), S. flexneriae (35%), P. vulgaris and V. cholerae (20%). Presence of diverse range of enteric bacteria in milk and milk products indicates the distribution of poor quality products that do not meet regulation standards. Thus the findings of the present study warrants the need for education programs for dairy producers and processing persons.