Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant E. coli Strains Isolated from Farmed Broilers and Hens in Greece, Based on Phenotypic and Molecular Analyses

Anna Xexaki, Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos, Maria V. Alvanou, Ioannis A. Giantsis (), Konstantinos V. Papageorgiou, Georgios A. Delis, Vangelis Economou, Spyridon K. Kritas, Evangelia N. Sossidou and Evanthia Petridou
Additional contact information
Anna Xexaki: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Dimitrios K. Papadopoulos: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
Maria V. Alvanou: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
Ioannis A. Giantsis: Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Western Macedonia, 53100 Florina, Greece
Konstantinos V. Papageorgiou: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Georgios A. Delis: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Vangelis Economou: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Spyridon K. Kritas: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Evangelia N. Sossidou: Veterinary Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization—DEMETER, 57001 Thessaloniki, Greece
Evanthia Petridou: School of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 12, 1-10

Abstract: The use of antimicrobials is beneficial for livestock health; however, their overuse and misuse may increase resistance to these compounds. Thus, the aim of the present study was the phenotypic and molecular examination of the presence of Escherichia coli antibiotic-resistant strains in broiler and laying hen farms. The resistance of E. coli strains was examined against various antibiotics, including several families of compounds such as penicillin class medications (ampicillin), cephalosporins (cefotaxime, cefoxitin, cefpodoxime and ceftazidime), sulfonamides (co-trimoxazole), quinolones (enrofloxacin and nalidixic acid), aminoglycosides (gentamicin), β-lactams (imipenem), aminoglycoside (streptomycin), and polymyxin (colistin). In total, 106 strains were investigated, sampled during the years 2016–2019 from 91 poultry farms, including 75 broiler farms and 16 laying hen farms, originating from three Regional Units in Greece. The examined isolates revealed the highest resistance rates to sulfamethoxazole (81.1%), nalidixic acid (73.6%), tetracyclin (70.8%), and streptomycin (70.8%). On the other hand, the resistance of the isolates to third generation cephalosporins was found to be at lower levels for ceftazidime (2.8%), ceftriaxone (3.7%) cefoxitin (4.7%), and cefotaxime (4.7%). Phenotypic tests showed that 13.6% and 10.2% of the isolates produced ESBL, while 2.7% and 1% produced AmpC b-lactamase, for broiler and laying hens, respectively. The prevalence of the mcr-1 gene was found to be 22.7%, detected only in broiler isolates. Based on our results, E. coli antibiotic resistance represents a critical control point in poultry production that, apart from farm animals, may affect public health as well.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; antibiotics; resistance; poultry; laying hens; broiler (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9421/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9421/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9421-:d:1169113

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().