Prevalence of multidrug-resistant and extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing from chicken farms in Egypt.

Background And Aim: Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains exhibit antibiotic resistance and are known to infect humans worldwide. This study assessed the phenotypic and genotypic prevalence of ESBL-resistant isolates recovered from the respiratory tracts of chickens in El-Sharkia Governorate, Egypt.

Materials And Methods: We obtained 250 lung samples (one lung/bird) from 50 chicken farms (5 chickens/farm) to isolate, identify, and serotype . Antimicrobial resistance susceptibility was determined using the disk diffusion method, while the ESBL phenotype was identified using double disk synergy. We detected the β-lactamase genes, TEM, and SHV, using a polymerase chain reaction.

Results: The results showed that 140/250 (56%) were infected with . All the serogroups of isolated exhibited high multi-antimicrobial resistance index values (>0.2), and 65.7% were confirmed to have ESBL. Among the isolates with the ESBL phenotypes, 55 (60%) and 32 (35%) contained the TEM and SHV genes, respectively.

Conclusion: The widespread distribution of multidrug-resistant and ESBL-producing among poultry farms is a significant human health hazard. These results will help the Egyptian authorities to implement a national one-health approach to combat the antimicrobial resistance problem.