Faculty Opinions recommendation of Poultry hatcheries as potential reservoirs for antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli: A risk to public health and food safety.
Year: 2018
Type: peer-review
Abstract: Hatcheries have the power to spread antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens through the poultry value chain because of their central position in the poultry production chain.Currently, no information is available about the presence of AMR Escherichia coli strains and the antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) they harbor within hatchezries.Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the possible involvement of hatcheries in harboring hemolytic AMR E. coli.Serotyping of the 65 isolated hemolytic E. coli revealed 15 serotypes with the ability to produce moderate biofilms, and shared susceptibility to cephradine and fosfomycin and resistance to spectinomycin.The most common β-lactam resistance gene was bla TEM , followed by bla OXA-1 , bla MOX -like , bla CIT -like , bla SHV and bla FOX .Hierarchical clustering of E. coli isolates based on their phenotypic and genotypic profiles revealed separation of the majority of isolates from hatchlings and the hatchery environments, suggesting that hatchling and environmental isolates may have different origins.The high frequency of β-lactam resistance genes in AMR E. coli from chick hatchlings indicates that hatcheries may be a reservoir of AMR E. coli and can be a major contributor to the increased environmental burden of ARGs posing an eminent threat to poultry and human health.In poultry breeding, the hatchery occupies a central position between breeder farms and poultry production houses.However, because of their intensive production systems and the movement of the produced chicks across long distances, hatcheries can serve as a reservoir and source of pathogenic microorganisms.Some chicks are already infected with Gram-negative bacteria at hatching, which can lead to death from yolk sac infection or bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis 1 .The risk of illness through contamination of chickens with pathogenic E. coli should be a concern for all parties from farm to fork, as infection could occur through the environment, equipment, feed and drinking water, insufficient cleaning and disinfection, people and chickens themselves.A pathogen-free hatchery environment therefore plays a crucial role in preventing the spread of pathogens in the poultry value chain 2 .Although it has been documented that chickens are the most significant carrier of food-poisoning microorganisms causing illness in humans 3 , their role in the dispersal of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) into the food chain has not been given due consideration.
Authors: Niyaz Ahmed, Muhammad Asaduzzaman
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Medicine
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: King Saud University
OpenAlex ID: W4254920110