Background and Aim: Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are widely used at home, restaurants, and during festivals in Bangladesh. So it is very important to investigate possible microbial contamination in RTE foods. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the total coliform count (TCC), isolate, identify, and characterize the Escherichia coli in RTE foods. The antimicrobial sensitivity of E. coli obtained from RTE foods was also performed using 12 commonly used antibiotics. Materials and Methods: A total of 100 RTE food samples were collected aseptically and comprised of ten samples each: Burger, pizza, sandwich, chicken roll, chicken meat loaf, chicken fry, salad vegetable, ice-cream, yogurt, and milkshake sold in Mymensingh city. Samples were inoculated onto Eosin methylene blue agar and incubated at 37°C for 24 h. Isolation and identification of bacteria were performed based on cultural, staining, and biochemical properties, followed by a polymerase chain reaction. Results: The TCC in Chicken meat loaf, burger, pizza, sandwich, salad vegetable ice-cream, and yogurt samples were 3.57 ± 0.96, 3.69 ± 0.08, 3.50 ± 0.60, 2.60 ± 0.20, 4.09 ± 0.29, 4.44 ± 0.25, and 3.14 ± 0.30 mean log colony-forming units ± standard deviation/mL, respectively. The study found a higher prevalence of E. coli in RTE salad vegetable products than in RTE meat and milk products. Forty percent of the mixed vegetable salad samples showed positive results for E. coli. Whereas E. coli prevalence in RTE meat and milk products was 20% and 16.7%, respectively. All the 21 isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility test against 12 different antibiotics. It was observed that 46.1% were susceptible, 16.6% were intermediate, 46.1% were resistant, and 47.6% were multidrug-resistant (MDR) among seven different antibiotic classes. E. coli isolates were resistant to cephalexin, ceftazidime, oxytetracycline, and ampicillin and sensitive to gentamycin, followed by kanamycin, ceftriaxone, colistin, and enrofloxacin.. Conclusion: The study revealed that RTE foods are a serious issue from a public health point of view. To achieve a safer level of E. coli in RTE foods sold for human consumption, public food outlets must improve hygienic and good production procedures. Moreover, MDR E. coli in these foods pose serious public health threats.

Duck plague (DP) or duck viral enteritis is a fatal viral disease of ducks that causes huge economic losses in the duck industry. The present study was performed to determine the immune response and protective efficacy of an inactivated DP vaccine prepared from a local virulent DP virus. A virulent DP virus was obtained from the laboratory repository of the Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh (Bangladesh). The DP virus (EID50 105.3/ml) was inactivated using 0.04% formalin. The alum (40 g/L) was added to the inactivated DP virus as an adjuvant. A total of 60 Khaki Campbell male ducks aged 17 weeks were randomly divided into three groups. Ducks of groups A (n = 20) and B (n = 20) were vaccinated intramuscularly in the breast muscle with 1 ml of inactivated DP vaccine and a live attenuated DP vaccine, respectively. Ducks of group C (n = 20) were kept as unvaccinated control. Booster vaccination was administered at 2 weeks after primary vaccination. Antibody titers of vaccinated ducks were measured at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post-vaccination (DPV) using a passive haemagglutination (PHA) test. Ducks of both vaccinated and unvaccinated groups were challenged with 1 ml virulent DP virus (EID50 104.3/ml) at 28 DPV. Clinical signs, morbidity and mortality, and gross pathological lesions of vaccinated and control ducks were observed for 10 days post-challenge to evaluate the protective efficacy of inactivated DP vaccine. The mean PHA antibody titers of vaccinated ducks of group A at 7, 14, 21, and 28 DPV were 5 ± 0.43, 26 ± 1.71, 43 ± 3.4, and 54 ± 3.28, respectively. Ducks in group B had mean serum PHA antibody titers of 21 ± 1.71, 41 ± 3.28, 52 ± 3.41, and 84 ± 7.25 at 7, 14, 21, and 28 DPV, respectively. No mortality or gross pathological lesions were observed in vaccinated ducks after they were subjected to a challenge infection. Additionally, no significant difference was observed between groups A and B in terms of the challenge infection. The mortality rate of the control group of ducks was 70%. Hemorrhage in the trachea and intestine and necrotic foci in the liver were seen in unvaccinated control ducks (group C). Experimentally developed inactivated DP vaccine induced a protective serum antibody titer and conferred 100% protection against virulent challenge infection up to 10 days observation period.