Antibiotic resistance among bacteria isolated from pigs in selected farms in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Abstract

Emergence of antibiotic resistance among bacteria isolated from animals has been recognized to pose serious threat to health when these bacteria are disseminated into food chain. This study determined the incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria isolated from pigs at different pig locations in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Sixty-three (63) faecal samples were collected from all selected poultry locations in Ekiti State and cultured in the microbiology laboratory at the Federal University Oye Ekiti. Distinct colonies of bacterial isolates were picked per plate and subcultured to obtain pure cultures. All bacteria were identified using biochemical tests and were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility tests using the following antibiotics: ertapenem (10μg), meropenem (10μg), ceftazidime (30μg), ceftriaxone (30μg), gentamicin (10μg), ampicillin (10μg), tetracycline (30μg), norfloxacin (10μg) and pefloxacin (5μg). All the bacteria were tested for biofilms and haemolysis. 57/63 (90.5%) bacterial isolates were recovered from 63 samples. The bacteria recovered from the faecal samples included Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis and Yersinia enterocolitica. Generally, the bacteria showed the highest rate of reduced susceptibility to ampicillin 44 (77.2%) and least resistance to norfloxacin 9 (15.8%). All the bacterial isolates were biofilm producers while 12 of the total isolates were haemolytic (21.1%). The observed high resistance rates of the bacterial isolates suggested the need for swift special intervention on antibiotic usages in livestock production as this will help to reduce the incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria from animals and hence, reducing the havoc that might arise when these bacteria enter food chain.