Patterns of Antimicrobial Resistance and ESBL Carriage in Enterobacteriaceae Isolates from Broiler Chicken in the West Region of Cameroon: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The emergence of multidrug-resistant foodborne pathogens of animal origin is a growing concern. In particular, antibiotic resistance in Enterobacteriaceae of clinical importance has been on the rise. Identifying and monitoring resistance patterns in residual intestinal microflora in poultry are of great significance in the containment of antimicrobial resistance. The current study aimed to detect Enterobacteriaceae among broiler chicken and determine key antibiotic resistance patterns in isolates from poultry chicken in the West Region of Cameroon.Results: 275 cloacal swabs were collected from 28 poultry farms in 11 locations in 5 out of the 8 Divisions in the West Region. All samples tested positive for Enterobacteriaceae with an average of 3 different colonies per sample. 394 isolates were obtained belonging to 12 different Genera of Enterobacteriaceae distributed as 81 (20.56 %) Escherichia spp, 74 (18.78 %) Salmonella spp, 39 (9.90 %) Klebsiella spp, 38 (9.64 %) Proteus spp, 34 (8.63 %) Citrobacter spp, 31 (7.87 %) Enterobacter spp, 28 (7.87%) Providencia spp, 19 (4.82%) Hafnia spp, 15 (3.30 %) Shigella spp, 14 (3.55 %) Raoultella spp, 13 (3.30 %) Yersinia spp and 8 (1.78 %) Morgenella spp. Antibiotic susceptibility testing on isolates showed the following overall resistance to the various antibiotics tested: amoxicillin 345 (87.8%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid 227 (57.8%), ceftriaxone 79 (20.1%), cefotaxime 65 (16.5%), imipenem 16 (4.1%), gentamicin 58 (14.5%), amikacin 12 (3.1%), ciprofloxacin 142 (37.1%), levofloxacin 124 (33.1%) and doxycycline 380 (96.7). 217 (55.1 %) were resistant to at least one antibiotic class of choice against Enterobacteriaceae, 80 (20.3 %) resistant to at least one cephalosporin, 164 (41.62 %) resistant to at least one quinolone and 66 (16.75 %) resistant to at least one aminoglycoside.173 (44.0%) showed MDR and 84 (21.32 %) were ESBL producers. Poor sanitation increased Enterobacteriaceae carriage, antibiotic misuse and long periods of rearing increased the risk of developing antimicrobial resistance, MDR and ESBL production. Conclusion: Poor sanitation in poultries caused high Enterobacteriaceae carriage in subjects. This high co-infection coupled with antibiotic abuse caused high prevalence of resistance, MDR and ESBL production. These outcomes showed relatively uniform distribution across the area of study.