Resistance of E. coli strains, recovered from chickens to antibiotics with particular reference to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (septrin)
Bebora, L.C.; Oundo, J.O.; Yamamoto, H.
East African Medical Journal 71(10): 624-627
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0012-835X PMID: 7821238 Document Number: 209
37 strains of Escherichia coli recovered from cases of septicaemia in chickens were tested for sensitivity to 6 antibiotics. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determinations done on the strains showed resistance to septrin (100%), ampicillin (62.2%), tetracycline (51.4%), kanamycin (13.%) and gentamicin (2.7%). All were sensitive to chloramphenicol. Most strains demonstrated multiple resistance; 48% showed resistance to 2 antibiotics, 21.6% to 3 antibiotics and 13.5% to 4 antibiotics. Conjugation studies showed easy transfer of the resistance factor for septrin to the recipient sensitive strain, K12F-, a 60 megadalton plasmid was transferred in most of the cases. Septrin is used extensively for treating diarrhoeal cases in children in Kenya. It is suggested that chickens are possible sources of the septrin resistance gene for humans, and vice versa.
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