Prevalence, associated factors and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns ofSalmonellaspecies and pathogenicEscherichia coliisolated from broiler poultry farms in Wakiso district, Uganda

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe emergence and re- emergence of zoonotic bacterial infections and the upsurge reflected in current trends of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is a major global concern.Salmonellaspp andEscherichia coli (E. coli)are the two most important food-borne pathogens of public health interest incriminated in poultry products worldwide hence necessitating constant monitoring of microbial food safety measures. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, associated factors and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns ofSalmonellaandE. coliin poultry farms in Wakiso District to provide detailed information of extent of spread to guide plans that influence safer poultry keeping practices in this era.MethodsThis study was a cross sectional study that used a total of two hundred sixteen(216) poultry samples from cloacae swabs and fecal swabs collected from broiler poultry farms and cultured on ChromagarTMSalmonella and Sorbitol MacConkey agar for pathogenic E. coli. Biochemical tests, minimum inhibitory concentration, and polymerase chain reaction were utilized. Assessment of the correlations between the resistance patterns of resistant and susceptible isolates was determined using mean, and multiple logistic regression.ResultsA total of 40 (18.5%)Salmonellaand 120 (55.6%) PathogenicE. coliwas isolated. In this investigation, extended beta lactamase (ESBL) production was detected in 18 isolatesSalmonellaand 57 pathogenicE. coli. Prevalence ofblaTEM gene was expressed in 7/18 (39%)Salmonellaisolates and 42/57 (73.8%) PathogenicE. coliisolates The associated factors that predispose these farms toSalmonellaand PathogenicE. coliidentified in this study include: contact of poultry and wild birds (p- value =0.000), movement from one pen to the other by farm-handlers (P-Value = 0.030), use of untreated water (P-Value =0.005) and food contamination of commercial poultry feeds (P-Value= 0.0021)ConclusionSalmonellaspp andEscherichia coliremain the two most important food-borne pathogens of public health interest incriminated in the poultry field, and it is evident from this study that these bacteria have resistant genes associated with them.