COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF ESCHERICHIA COLI CONTAMINATION AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE ACROSS BROILER, NATIVE CHICKEN, AND DUCK PRODUCTION UNITS

Abstract

Variations in poultry housing systems and biosecurity levels can influence Escherichia coli persistence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dynamics at the farm level.This study compared E. coli contamination across cloacal swabs, drinking water, and litter samples among broiler, native chicken, and duck units.Furthermore, it mapped antibiotic resistance profiles, the prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR), and their correlations with specific poultry hosts.A total of 127 samples (comprising cloacal swabs, drinking water, and litter) were collected across broiler, native chicken, and duck units.E. coli was enumerated and tested for susceptibility against eight antibiotics using the disc diffusion method.Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman's correlation tests.The results revealed that E. coli concentrations differed significantly between housing units across all sample types (P<0.01).Duck units exhibited the highest contamination (median 16 log10), while broilers showed the lowest (median 5.53 log10).The highest resistance was observed against ampicillin (59.3%), ceftriaxone (44.4%), gentamicin (40.7%), and tetracycline (40.7%).Notably, 44.4% of the isolates were MDR, though all remained susceptible to meropenem.Spearman's correlation revealed that broiler isolates were positively correlated with resistance (e.g., ceftazidime, r=0.77; ampicillin, r=0.67), whereas duck and native chicken isolates were not.Consequently, mitigating MDR risks requires optimizing water/drainage infrastructure in duck units and enforcing stricter antimicrobial stewardship in broiler production.

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