Fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis in poultry of middle Moravia, Czech Republic

Abstract

The aim of the study was to detect antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli and Proteus mirabilis isolates from farm-reared poultry. During the period of June 2003 to June 2004, samples of cloacal swabs obtained from 5 poultry farms located in the central part of Moravia, Czech Republic were examined using aerobic cultivation and afterwards E. coli and P. mirabilis isolates were identified. Minimal inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics tested were determined by a microdilution method. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was performed using SmaI restriction endonuclease. A total of 300 samples of cloacal swabs from healthy layer hens were cultivated and 239 E. coli and 127 P. mirabilis strains were isolated. In the case of E. coli, 7 isolates (3%) from 4 different farms were identified manifesting resistance to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin. Out of 24 P. mirabilis isolates resistant to the tested fluoroquinolones, 20 strains were isolated from one of the farms and PFGE analysis of DNA proved that 19 isolates were probably identical and represented one clonal type. The study confirmed the occurrence of multiresistant bacterial isolates with resistance to fluoroquinolones in poultry in the Czech Republic. Their clonal spread in farm-reared poultry can be suggested, too.