High Prevalence of Antimicrobial Resistance among Gram Negative Bacteria Isolated from Poultry

Background: Multidrug resistant bacteria (MDR), such as Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. are threat to the human health care system. In recent years, these MDR bacteria have been found increasingly inside and outside the hospital environment. Food animals (meat and poultry) are increasingly colonized with MDR bacteria, thus posing an additional concern. This study is intended to determine susceptibility and resistance pattern of pathogenic Gram negative bacteria isolated from rectal swabs of chicken against 16 antibiotics. Methods: A total of 216 cloacal swab samples (Gaza strip poultry farms) and 87 frozen and fresh meat samples (from slaughter houses and retails) from June 2017 to June 2018 were collected. Isolation and identification of organisms were achieved using standard bacteriological techniques. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed according to standard protocols. Results: 360 Enterobacteriaceae isolates, and 56 Gram-negative non fermenter were recovered. The predominant Enterobacteriaceae isolate was Citrobacter spp. (22.6%), followed by Enterobacter spp. (17.6%) and E. coli (16.5%). High rates of resistance against Ampicillin (85.4%) and Trimethoprim/ Sulfamethoxazole (80.1%) followed by Chloramphenicol (74%) were recorded. Six samples were positive for Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. Of the tested Enterobacteriacae isolates, 94.7% were multidrug resistant (MDR), and 31.4% of  None fermenting bacilli (NFB) were MDR. Carbapenem resistance was found to be high among isolates; 51.9% for imipenem and 1.8% for meropenem. Conclusion: Isolated bacteria in the study area were MDR and this suggests that chickens may be important reservoir of antimicrobial resistant organisms which is a major public health concern.