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Aim: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat. This study investigated the prevalence of Escherichia coli in imported 1-day-old chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults. Materials and Methods: The liver, heart, lungs, and yolk sacs of 148 imported batches of 1-day-old flocks (chicks, 45; ducklings, 63; and turkey poults, 40) were bacteriologically examined for the presence of E. coli. Results: We isolated 38 E. coli strains from 13.5%, 6.7%, and 5.4% of imported batches of 1-day-old chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults, respectively. They were serotyped as O91, O125, O145, O78, O44, O36, O169, O124, O15, O26, and untyped in the imported chicks; O91, O119, O145, O15, O169, and untyped in the imported ducklings; and O78, O28, O29, O168, O125, O158, and O115 in the imported turkey poults. The E. coli isolates were investigated for antibiotic resistance against 16 antibiotics using the disk diffusion method and were found resistant to cefotaxime (60.5%), nalidixic acid (44.7%), tetracycline (44.7%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (42.1%). The distribution of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and ampC β-lactamase genes was blaTEM (52.6%), blaSHV (28.9%), blaCTX-M (39.5%), blaOXA-1 (13.1%), and ampC (28.9%). Conclusion: Imported 1-day-old poultry flocks may be a potential source for the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant E. coli and the ESBL genes in poultry production.

The current situation of antibiotic resistance of most bacterial pathogens was a threat to the poultry and public health with increasing economic losses. Regarding this problem, monitoring of the circulating microorganisms occurred with the antibiotic resistance profile. A total of 657 different samples from internal organs (liver, heart, lung, and yolk) and paper-lining chick boxes were collected from native chicken farms which were submitted to the Reference Laboratory for Veterinary Quality Control on Poultry Production in the period from 2014 to 2018 for the detection of Salmonella, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Staphylococcus. The bacterial isolates were tested for their antimicrobial susceptibility by disk diffusion technique. Salmonella was isolated from 128 out of 657 (19.5%), E. coli was isolated from 496 out of 657 (75.5%), and Staphylococcus species was isolated from 497 out of 657 (75.6%). All Salmonella positive samples were examined for antibiotic resistance against 10 different antibiotics, and the highest percentage all over the five years was against penicillin, ampicillin, and tetracycline. All E. coli positive samples were examined for antibiotic resistance against 14 different antibiotics, and the highest percentage all over the five years was with ampicillin, tetracycline, norfloxacin, streptomycin, and danofloxacin. All Staphylococcus positive sample species were examined for antibiotic resistance against 14 different antibiotics, and the highest percentage of resistance all over the five years was shown with tetracycline, streptomycin, ampicillin, and nalidixic acid.

Background and Aim: Multidrug resistance (MDR) of Escherichia coli has become an increasing concern in poultry farming worldwide. However, E. coli can accumulate resistance genes through gene transfer. The most problematic resistance mechanism in E. coli is the acquisition of genes encoding broad-spectrum β-lactamases, known as extended-spectrum β-lactamases, that confer resistance to broad-spectrum cephalosporins. Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes (conferring resistance to quinolones) and mcr-1 genes (conferring resistance to colistin) also contribute to antimicrobial resistance. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of antimicrobial susceptibility and to detect β-lactamase and colistin resistance genes of E. coli isolated from broiler farms in Egypt. Materials and Methods: Samples from 938 broiler farms were bacteriologically examined for E. coli isolation. The antimicrobial resistance profile was evaluated using disk diffusion, and several resistance genes were investigated through polymerase chain reaction amplification. Results: Escherichia coli was isolated and identified from 675/938 farms (72%) from the pooled internal organs (liver, heart, lung, spleen, and yolk) of broilers. Escherichia coli isolates from the most recent 3 years (2018–2020) were serotyped into 13 serotypes; the most prevalent serotype was O125 (n = 8). The highest phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles during this period were against ampicillin, penicillin, tetracycline, and nalidixic acid. Escherichia coli was sensitive to clinically relevant antibiotics. Twenty-eight selected isolates from the most recent 3 years (2018–2020) were found to have MDR, where the prevalence of the antibiotic resistance genes ctx, tem, and shv was 46% and that of mcr-1 was 64%. Integrons were found in 93% of the isolates. Conclusion: The study showed a high prevalence of E. coli infection in broiler farms associated with MDR, which has a high public health significance because of its zoonotic relevance. These results strengthen the application of continuous surveillance programs.

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