Detection of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli isolates from Egyptian vultures from arid regions of India

Abstract

Egyptian vultures (Neophron percnopterus) wintering in north-western India remains for several months (October to March) and with due course they have become an inhabitant of a synanthropic site in Jorbeer, a livestock and other animal carcasses dumping and disposing site in the outskirts of Bikaner city of Rajasthan. The main purpose of this study was to isolate and identify E. coli from critically endangered Egyptian vultures through conventional and molecular methods along with determining their antibiotic resistance profile. Bacteriological analyses were conducted on 38 freshly voided fecal samples, leading to the isolation of E. coli in 30 samples which were identified by biochemical tests and 16S rRNA sequencing. In the antibiogram study, out of 12 antibiotics two antibiotics namely norfloxacin and co-trimoxazole were highly effective against most (93.33%) of the isolates. Highest resistance was against cephotaxime (56.65%) followed by amoxyclav (43.33%). Antibiogram showed a moderate spread of E. coli strains showing antibiotic resistance among Egyptian vultures at Jorbeer, Bikaner.