Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University
Abstract
A total of 125 swab samples were collected from tables, knives, rinsing water, carcasses' surfaces and workers' hands (25, each) in five poultry slaughter houses at Sharkia Province, Egypt. These samples were examined for the presence of E. coli and Salmonella spp. and the resistance patterns of the isolates were determined using disc diffusion method. The isolates were serologically, molecularly identified and screened for the presence of antibiotic resistance genes using PCR. The overall prevalence of E.coli was 58.4% compared to 4.8% for Salmonella spp. E. coli isolates were serologically identified into 10 different serotypes with the predominance of serotype O125:K70 (7 isolates). Moreover, Salmonella isolates were serotyped into S. Enteritidis (3 isolates), S. Typhimurium, S. Emek and S. Agona (one isolate, each). E.coli and Salmonella isolates showed marked variations in their antibiotic resistance patterns. QRDRs of the gyrA, sul1 and tetA genes were identified in 60, 62 and 68 % of E. coli isolates, respectively. On the other hand, the respective prevalence of the former genes in Salmonella isolates was 50, 50 and 66.7%. The higher incidence of multidrug resistant E.coli and Salmonella harboring resistance genes in this study constituting a devastating problem for poultry industry and poultry consumers
