| Abstrakt: |
Birds play a critical role as a reservoir for enteric bacteria Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica. This study aimed to investigate prevalence of E. coli and S. enterica and occurrence of their antibiotic resistance (ABR) genes in selected wild and captive bird species in Pakistan. E. coli and S. enterica were isolated from fecal samples of birds and identified by phenotypic, biochemical, and molecular characterization of ABR genes by PCR. E. coli colonies appeared circular and dark purple on EMB agar media plates while S. enterica colonies were small, circular, and red on SS agar media plates. E. coli and S. enterica isolates were found resistant to amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole, while sensitive against doxycycline, gentamycin, and tetracycline. E. coli isolates showed positive results in catalase, indole, and methyl red tests while S. enterica isolates showed negative in citrate, lactose, and urease tests. E. coli and S. enterica strains were 100% and 99% identical, respectively, to previously isolated E. coli and S. enterica strains. Overall prevalence of E. coli and S. enterica was recorded as 16.55% and 2.7% respectively. Captive pigeons exhibited maximum 19.1% and 3.3% occurrence of blaTEM of E. coli and S. enterica respectively, 18.3% and 2.5% of sul3 respectively in peafowls, and 23.3% and 3.3% of qnrA respectively in captive pigeons. It has been concluded that captive birds in districts with lower elevation levels have a higher prevalence of E. coli and S. enterica at high temperatures compared to wild birds in districts with higher elevation levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
