Prevalence and Antibiogram of and spp. Isolated from Cattle Milk Products Sold in Juja Sub-County, Kenya.

Dairy ruminant milk provides a conducive environment for bacterial proliferation. In animals, these bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, whose overuse has led to increased cases of drug resistance. A cross-sectional study was conducted on milk and milk products vended in Juja Sub-County, Kenya to determine the prevalence of bacteria and antibiogram of spp. and . A total of 169 milk samples were obtained from various outlets in the study area. Milk samples were cultured and isolated bacteria were identified using standard bacteriological procedures. Various bacteria (15 species) were isolated in different proportions. spp. and E. were isolated from 25.4% and 11.8% of the collected samples, respectively. The highest number of spp. were isolated from raw milk ( = 34) while the highest number of E. where isolated from fermented milk ( = 15). spp. and E. isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests using CLSI guidelines. The spp. isolates were highly resistant to penicillin G (93%) but susceptible to norfloxacin (100%), gentamicin (90.6%), and chloramphenicol (86%). The E. isolates were highly resistant to cephalexin (85%) and ceftazidime (60%) but susceptible to chloramphenicol (100%), norfloxacin (95%), gentamicin (95%), azithromycin (95%) and cefepime (80%). Furthermore, 44.3% of spp. and 50% of isolates had a Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) Index greater than 0.2. This implies that these bacteria were high-risk bacteria whose treatment with current antibiotics would be challenging. The high prevalence and multidrug resistance patterns shown by the spp. and E. isolated from milk products in Juja Sub-county highlights the importance of proper handling and processing of milk from the farm to consumers. This will in turn reduce the possibility of zoonotic transfer of multidrug-resistant bacteria.