Poultry Litter Contamination by Escherichia coli Resistant to Critically Important Antimicrobials for Human and Animal Use and Risk for Public Health in Cameroon

Abstract

Residues of antimicrobials used in farm can exert selective pressure and accelerate the occurrence of multidrug resistant bacteria in litter. This study aimed to investigate the resistance profile of Escherichia coli isolated from poultry litter. A total of 101 E. coli strains was isolated from 229 litter samples collected and stored for two months in the laboratory at room temperature. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using the disk diffusion method. An overall resistance prevalence of 58.4% (95% CI: 48.8–68.0) was obtained with 59 E. coli strains resistant to various antimicrobial agents. High levels of resistance were observed with ciprofloxacin (21/59: 36%), imipenem (27/59: 45%), norfloxacin (44/59: 74%), ceftriaxone (44/59: 74%), and levofloxacin (44/59: 75%). These antimicrobials classified under the Watch group by WHO are indicators of the high AMR risk to public health in Cameroon. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that a greater probability of high level of E. coli multidrug resistance was associated with lack of training in poultry farming (OR = 0.13, p = 0.01), less experience in poultry farming (OR = 11.66 p = 0.04), and the high frequency of digestive tract disease (OR = 0.10; p = 0.001). This study revealed that poultry litter constitutes a potential source of dissemination of resistant germs from farm animals to the environment and humans.

A Comprehensive Study of the Microbiome, Resistome, and Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Chicken Waste from Intensive Farms

“…Similar findings were obtained for the phenotypes of the E. coli isolates in our study, confirming a high level of MDR among the species, with all 23 isolated E. coli being resistant to at least eight antibiotics. In the samples collected in Cameroon, the E. coli demonstrated lower levels of resistance to ciprofloxacin (36%) and imipenem (45%) than to ampicillin (91%) and amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (89%) [ 52 ]. In our isolated E. coli strains, resistance to ciprofloxacin (n = 14; 61.5%) was similar to that of amoxicillin (n = 14; 63.2%), with resistance to imipenem being at a much lower level (n = 2; 7%) in the isolated bacteria.…”

A comprehensive study of the microbiome and resistome of chicken waste from intensive farms

“…Similar findings were obtained for the phenotypes of the E. coli isolates in our study, confirming a high level of MDR among the species, with all 23 isolated E. coli being resistant to at least eight antibiotics. In the samples collected in Cameroon, the E. coli demonstrated lower levels of resistance to ciprofloxacin (36%) and imipenem (45%) than to ampicillin (91%) and amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (89%) [36]. In our isolated E. coli strains, resistance to ciprofloxacin (61.5%) was similar to that of amoxicillin (63.2%), with resistance to imipenem at a much lower level (7% of isolated bacteria).…”

High-Frequency Detection of fosA3 and blaCTX–M–55 Genes in Escherichia coli From Longitudinal Monitoring in Broiler Chicken Farms

“…Curiously in our research, poultry litter did not have the high number of resistance when compared with day-old chicken sample. The use of the same poultry litter in subsequent production cycles, when subjected to a sanitary vacuum and a good fermentation process, may result in a low microbial load ( Wei et al, 2013 ; Vieira et al, 2015 ; Waziri and Kaltungo, 2017 ; Gurmessa et al, 2021 ; Moffo et al, 2021 ; Yévenes et al, 2021 ). In Brazil, poultry litter is reused for more than one consecutive batch, and this practice is allowed if sanitary problems have not occurred with the batches housed on the poultry litter to be reused ( Waziri and Kaltungo, 2017 ).…”