ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE PATTERN OF ESCHERICHIA COLI ISOLATED FROM BROILER MEAT GAZI SOFIUL ALAM Roll No.:

Abstract

Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli is a growing concern all over the world. This study was designed to estimate the prevalence of E. coli and their resistance patterns in broiler meat obtained from Live Bird Markets (LBM) and Super Shops (SS) in Chattogram, Bangladesh. A total of 405 samples were collected from super shops and live bird markets consisting of muscle (n=215) and liver (n=190). Isolation and identification of E. coli were done using standard bacteriological methods. Later the isolates were screened to reveal the resistance pattern against eight antimicrobials of seven different unrelated groups using the disc diffusion technique. Finally, tetracycline-resistant isolates as obtained were investigated for the presence of tet-A, tet-B, tet-C, and tet-D genes using PCR. The results revealed that 229 (56.54%; 95% CI 51.56% - 61.43%) samples were found positive with E. coli. Antimicrobial resistance profiling of the isolates showed the highest resistance against sulphamethoxazole trimethoprim 88.65% (95% CI 83.81% - 92.45%) followed by tetracycline 86.90% (95% CI 81.82% - 90.92%), ampicillin 82.53% (95% CI 76.99% - 87.22%), and ciprofloxacin 60.70% (95% CI 54.04%- 67.06%) antimicrobials. The E. coli isolates were found to be susceptible to colistin sulfate 79.48% (95% CI 73.66% - 84.51%) followed by Cephalexin 62.88% (95% CI 56.27% - 69.15%), and Gentamycin 58.08% (95% CI 51.40% - 64.55%). Most of the tetracycline resistance isolates encoded tetA as 84.4% (95% CI 78.62% - 89.16%). Contrarily, 0.5% (95% CI 0.01% - 2.77%) isolates encoded tetC and 6.03% (95% CI 3.15% - 10.3%) isolates encoded containing two genes, while 12.1% (95% CI 7.88% - 17.41%) of the isolates tested negative for all four resistance genes of tetracyclines. This study revealed significant contamination of broiler meat with multidrug resistance E. coli. Potential sources of contamination with the alarming prevalence of tetracycline resistance E. coli identified in this study would aid in reducing the growing risks of broiler-associated pathogens. Appropriate control measures should be developed and implemented rational use of antimicrobials in poultry farming system and eliminate this multidrug resistance zoonotic pathogen from foods of animal origin to protect public health.