Prevalence and risk of antibiotic-resistant E. coli and strain O157:H7 spread in waste water, chicken, and handlers: A case study

Antibiotics resistant E. coli and strain O157:H7 are of zoonotic risk to handlers and consumers of contaminated chicken. Food intoxication and spread of antibiotics resistant gene still prevails amidst the inadequate public health amenities globally. This study determines the prevalence and risk of antibiotic-resistant E. coli and O157:H7 spread in waste water, chicken, and handlers in Plateau State, Nigeria. Swabs from cloacae, processed carcasses, handler’s hands and waste water were cultured and isolates identified with phenotypic and molecular methods. Antibiotics susceptibility testing and the risk practices among the chicken handlers were assessed, and data analysed. Out of 224 (51 cloacal, 173 water and surface swabs) samples, 26%, 12%, 33%, 50%, 17% and 23% were E. coli positive in poultry at slaughter, raw chicken, processors hands, waste water, ready-to-eat chicken, and the sellers hands respectively, while the non-sorbitol-fermerter (NS-F) were 3.9% and 10% only in raw chicken and processors hands respectively having the 16S rRNA; rfbEO157 and fliC genes. A total prevalence of 47 (21%) and 8 (17%) were for E. coli spp. and E. coli O157:H7respectively. E. coli spps. and strain O157:H7were resistant to ampicillin at (83% and 63%), ciprofloxacin (28% and 13%), tetracycline (47% and 13%), sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprin (38% and 0%), azithromycin (13% and 0%), Amikacin (0% and 0%) and cefotaxime (17% and 0%) respectively. Multi drug resistance rate was 43% with a resistant index of 0.6. Prevalence of antibiotic-resistant E. coli spps and O157:H7 were significantly associated (p<0.05) with the education and meat safety practices of handlers in Plateau State, Nigeria.