Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium isolates from milk, beef, and chicken and their antibiotic resistance

• Published in: Journal of food protection 2003-06, Vol.66 (6), p.931-936
• Main Authors: Chingwaru, W, Mpuchane, S.F, Gashe, B.A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ampicillin - pharmacology; Ampicillin Resistance; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; antibiotic resistance; bacterial contamination; beef; Biological and medical sciences; Botswana; Cattle; Cephalothin - pharmacology; chicken meat; Chickens; defense mechanisms; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecalis - drug effects; Enterococcus faecalis - isolation & purification; Enterococcus faecium; Enterococcus faecium - drug effects; Enterococcus faecium - isolation & purification; food contamination; Food industries; Food Microbiology; food pathogens; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Meat - microbiology; Meat and meat product industries; microbial detection; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; milk; Milk - microbiology; multiple drug resistance; strains; Vancomycin - pharmacology; Vancomycin Resistance
• ISSN: 0362-028X; 1944-9097
• DOI: 10.4315/0362-028X-66.6.931

The occurrence and antibiotic resistance of enterococci, especially Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium, in milk, beef, and chicken in Gaborone, Botswana, were studied. Enterococci were isolated from these sources with the use of bile esculin agar and identified with API 20 Strep kits. Antibiotic resistance was determined by the disk diffusion method. The antibiotics tested were vancomycin, teicoplanin, ampicillin, tetracycline, and cephalothin. Among the 1,467 enterococci isolated from the samples, E. faecalis (46.1%) and E. faecium (29.0%) were found to be the predominant species. Other enterococcal species made up 25% of the isolates. More than 96 and 97% of the E. faecalis and E. faecium isolates, respectively, were found to be resistant to ampicillin. Almost 34, 27.3, and 22.4% of the E. faecalis isolates from milk, beef, and chicken, respectively, were also resistant to cephalothin. The percentages of E. faecium isolates that were found to be resistant to cephalothin were 32.8, 16.9, and 17.3% for milk, beef, and chicken, respectively. Resistance to vancomycin was widespread. It was found that 18.8, 7.8. and 13.1% of the E. faecalis isolates from milk, beef, and chicken samples, respectively, were resistant to vancomycin. In contrast, 32.8, 24.7, and 30.7% of the E. faecium isolates from milk, beef, and chicken samples, respectively, were resistant to vancomycin. Isolates that were resistant to multiple drugs were found in relatively large numbers.