Association Between Antimicrobial Resistance and Biofilm Production of Aeromonas hydrophila Isolated from Beef and Mutton in Duhok Abattoir

Abstract

T HE study aimed to investigate the presence of A. hydrophila in mutton and beef, and to determine the possible association between resistance to antibiotics and biofilm formation ability. A total of 91 meat samples; (60) mutton and (31) beef collected from local slaughterhouse in Duhok city. All samples were cultured and A. hydrophila strains were isolated using microbiological and biochemical assays then confirmed molecularly by amplifying 16S rRNA gene. The antimicrobials susceptibility test was implemented using Kirby-Bauer procedure and biofilm formation ability was quantified by micro-titer plate appliance. The bacterial identification revealed that 41(45.05%) isolates were belonging to A. hydrophila distributed as 28/60 (46.67%) for mutton and 13/31 (41.93%) for beef. Antibiotic susceptibility test results showed that the highest resistance was recorded for Cephalothin, Amoxicillin, and Tetracycline at a rate of 90.24%, 82.92%, and 85.36% respectively, while high sensitivity to Nitrofurantoin, Chloramphenicol, Cefixime, Trimethoprim, Ciprofloxacin, and Ceftriaxone was detected in 95.12%, 92.68%, 97.56%, 90.24%, 90.24%, and 97.56% of the isolates, respectively. The biofilm formation assay demonstrated that (90.23%) of obtained isolates were biofilm producers distributed among strong, intermediate and weak and there was a positive association between antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. Our study's findings imply that the occurrence of A. hydrophila in food meats is a significant health hazard and may cause foodborne illnesses. Because Aeromonads can endure cold temperatures, and thrive in a variety of habitats, it is important to pay them more attention and strict sanitary practices should be used to limit bacterial contamination.