Comparative analysis of antimicrobial resistance patterns in Escherichia coli isolated from healthy and diseased poultry birds

Michui, D., Chandra, M., Narang, D. and Arora, A.K. 2023. Comparative analysis of antimicrobial resistance patterns in Escherichia coli isolated from healthy and diseased poultry birds. Indian Journal Poultry Science, 58(3): 307–312.

Antimicrobial resistance is a recognised global issue and the uncontrolled use of antibiotics is attributed as one of main causes of many. In the current study, Escherichia coli (E. coli) was isolated and identified from healthy and diseased poultry birds to comparatively study the trend of antimicrobial resistance. For this purpose, 120 faecal samples (50 from healthy birds) and faecal and tissues samples (70 from diseased birds) were obtained from five farms. Identification of E. coli was carried out by culturing on selective and differential media followed by evaluation of their morphological and biochemical properties. The isolates were further confirmed through MALDI TOF and by amplification of genus specific E. coli 23s rRNA. E. coli prevalence was 80% (n=40) in healthy birds and 65.71% (n=46) in diseased birds. Twenty different antibiotics were tested on the isolated E. coli to determine their resistance and sensitivity patterns. E. coli isolates from both diseased and healthy birds were 100% resistant to fusidic acid, methicillin, and penicillin. Highest sensitivity was observed towards ceftriaxone, ampicillin/sulbactum and amoxicillin in healthy and diseased birds. Statistically, there was no variation observed in the pattern of antibiotic resistance between healthy and diseased birds. However, statistical variation in the pattern of antibiotic resistance between farms was observed. Therefore, judicious use of antimicrobial agents in poultry farms needs to be adopted to prevent further emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria especially in healthy birds as well as to prevent the failure of disease treatment due to antibiotic resistance.