article · Pathogens
A cross-sectional investigation conducted between January and May 2020 across three dairy farms and four poultry farms in northern Egypt assessed the occurrence of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella. In total, 140 samples were collected from farm workers, animals, milk, equipment, feed, litter, and water. Laboratory testing revealed an ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae prevalence of 30.0 percent in humans, 25.0 percent in poultry, and 20.0 percent in cattle. Phenotypic susceptibility testing indicated that most isolated strains were multidrug-resistant. Further molecular identification confirmed blaSHV as the predominant resistance genotype, present in nearly 94 percent of the resistant isolates across human, avian, and bovine sources. These observations demonstrate shared drug resistance across agricultural reservoirs, highlighting the necessity of implementing strict control strategies to limit antimicrobial misuse.
The spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria among livestock, poultry, and farm workers poses a severe challenge to public health. Because these bacteria resist common beta-lactam antibiotics, routine infections become harder to treat. Demonstrating that resistance genes are shared across farm animals and their human handlers provides vital evidence for public health and veterinary bodies working to control the overuse of antimicrobials in food production.
This work represents early-stage surveillance research rather than a commercial technology. The findings could inform the design of targeted farm biosecurity protocols, veterinary diagnostics, or monitoring programmes for livestock managers and agricultural health authorities. However, the abstract does not indicate a direct commercial application pathway or the development of a marketable product.
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Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> are a universal public health alarm frequently identified among humans, animals, and poultry. Livestock and poultry production are a possible source of multidrug-resistant microorganisms, including ESBL-producing <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i>, which confer antimicrobial resistance to different β-lactam antimicrobial agents. From January to May 2020, a cross-sectional study was carried out in three dairy cattle farms and four poultry farms in different districts of northern Egypt to assess the prevalence of ESBLs, AmpC beta-lactamase-producing <i>E. coli</i> and <i>Klebsiella</i> in livestock, poultry, and human contacts, and to investigate the genetic relatedness of the recovered isolates. In total, 140 samples were collected, including human fecal samples (n = 20) of workers with intimate livestock contact, cattle rectal swabs (n = 34), milk (n = 14), milking machine swabs (n = 8), rations (n = 2), and water (n = 2) from different cattle farms, as well as cloacal swabs (n = 45), rations (n = 5), water (n = 5) and litter (n = 5) from poultry farms. The specimens were investigated for ESBL-producing <i>E. coli</i> and <i>Klebsiella</i> using HiCrome ESBL media agar. The agar disk diffusion method characterized the isolated strains for their phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility. The prevalence of ESBL-producing <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> was 30.0%, 20.0%, and 25.0% in humans, cattle, and poultry, respectively. Further genotypic characterization was performed using conventional and multiplex PCR assays for the molecular identification of ESBL and AmpC genes. The majority of the ESBL-producing <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> showed a multi-drug resistant phenotype. Additionally, <i>bla</i><b><sub>SHV</sub></b> was the predominant ESBL genotype (n = 31; 93.94%), and was mainly identified in humans (n = 6), cattle (n = 11), and poultry (14); its existence in various reservoirs is a concern, and highlights the necessity of the development of definite control strategies to limit the abuse of antimicrobial agents.
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DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11080852
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