Work

Antimicrobial resistance in raw cow’s milk in Bwegera, Democratic Republic of the Congo: implications for food safety

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Antibiotic resistance poses a significant threat to global food safety, particularly in unpasteurised dairy products. In the locality of Bwegera (South Kivu, DRC), livestock management practices promote the emergence of resistant bacterial strains, constituting a risk to public health. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the resistance profile of enteropathogenic bacteria isolated from raw cow's milk in Bwegera, and to identify farming practices associated with this antibiotic resistance. METHODS: A total of 144 milk samples were collected from 12 farms and analyzed following the standards of the International Organization for Standardization and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute / European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing to identify bacteria belonging to the Enterobacteriaceae family and to determine their susceptibility to various antibiotics. RESULTS: The analysis revealed a high prevalence of Escherichia coli (52.8%), followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (10.4%) and Citrobacter diversus (10.4%). Resistance was notably high for tetracyclines and vancomycin, affecting up to 95% of isolates, while amikacin remained fully effective (100% of isolates susceptible). Farming practices were characterised by frequent self-medication (83.3%) and a lack of awareness regarding antibiotic resistance (66.7%). Three farmer profiles were identified: one well-trained group misusing antibiotics, and another using antibiotics as feed additives. The majority of samples exhibited polymicrobial contamination (71.5%), with microbial loads often exceeding 300 CFU/mL. CONCLUSION: Inadequate sanitary and pharmaceutical practices foster resistant bacterial strains. Improved farmer education, stricter antibiotic regulations, and alternative interventions such as probiotics are needed within a 'One Health' framework.

Source: BMC Microbiology

DOI: 10.1186/s12866-025-04438-x