Detection of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli from poultry meat retail shops in Lahore

Antibiotics are drugs that are used to treat bacterial infections in both humans and animals. These are also used as prophylactic measures as well as growth promoters especially in poultry production. During the last one decade, antibiotic resistance emerged as a global problem drawing attention of the international health agencies. Present study was conducted to detect Escherichia coli (E. coli) from poultry meat retail shops in Lahore and to further evaluate antibiotic resistance in E. coli against different groups of antibiotics. 150 samples were collected from the hands of butchers, knives and their cutting boards with the help of sterile swabs and transferred to the laboratory in icebox. Afterwards, the samples were streaked over the MacConkey agar, pinkish colonies were taken and streaked over EMB agar plates and finally metallic green color colonies were isolated and further identified by the gram staining, catalase, indole, citrate and oxidase tests. Isolated colonies were swabbed over the Müller Hinton agar to check the antibiotic resistance against ampicillin, amoxicillin, tetracycline, gentamicin and ciprofloxacin. In this study, the highest resistance was observed against amoxicillin (80.37%), followed by ampicillin (77.57%), tetracycline (43.93%), ciprofloxacin (27.10%) and gentamicin (18.69%). Results of present study indicated that antibiotic resistance in E. coli is increasing day by day owing to the irrational use of these antibiotics. [Baqir Raza, Farrukh Shahzad, Sana Shahid, Muhammad Umair Khalid, Talha Sajid, Mahwish Shaukat, Syed Musa Raza Naqvi, Haseeb Ali Tariq, Mansur-ud-Din Ahmad, Abdul Rehman. Detection of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli from poultry meat retail shops in Lahore. Life Sci J 2021;18(2):29-38]. ISSN: 1097-8135 (Print) / ISSN: 2372-613X (Online). http://www.lifesciencesite.com. 6. doi:10.7537/marslsj180221.06.