Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Bacterial Isolates from Commercial Poultry Farms in Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Nontherapeutic antimicrobial usage in animal farms has been associated with the development and spread of resistant bacteria. The emergence of serious life-threatening infections from veterinary and environmental sources and treatment failures occurring with the available antibiotics warrants investigation into resistance of antimicrobial agents in poultry farms. This study therefore provides information on antibiotic resistance pattern of bacteria isolated from five commercial poultry farms in Ile Ife, a peri-urban settlement in Nigeria. Isolation of bacteria from droppings, feed and water samples, was performed by spread plate method using all purpose and selective media. Morphological and biochemical characterization of isolates was done. The antibiotics sensitivity of the recovered isolates was determined by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. A total 151 bacterial isolates, comprising 11 genera of 8 Gram negative and 3 Gram positive bacteria were recovered. E. coli had highest incidence rate of 21.19%, followed by Bacillus sp. with 15.23%; while the least recorded incidence of 1.32% was Citrobacter sp. All five farms recorded a 100% resistance to at least two (2) classes of antibiotics. A 100% resistance was recorded for augmentin in all five (5) farms, while 100% resistance in four (4) farms was recorded for cloxacilin. Furthermore a 100% resistance against erythromycin and cefixime respectively was documented in three farms. The least percentage resistance of 30% was against ciprofloxacin in only one farm, while the overall highest susceptibility of 39% was to ofloxacin. The multiple antibiotic resistance index (MARI) of isolates from all farms ranged from 0.3 to 1. Up to 9 bacterial genera had MARI 1, including E. coli, Salmonella, Bacillus, Klebsiella, and Pseudomonas. This study is a further indication that poultry farms represents an important reservoir of antibiotic resistance bacteria. It also serves as a pointer to the need for enforcement of regulatory antibiotics use in poultry farming by the government, and controlled usage by all stakeholders.