Vol. 11, Special Issue 6 (2022)

Author(s):
Namita Shukla, Rajesh Kumar, AK Upadhyay, Aakanksha Tiwari, NK Singh, Anupama Mishra and Prakash Bhatt

Abstract:
The purpose of this Study was to assess the antibiotic resistance profile of Shigatoxigenic and Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from captive wild Felidae i.e., Tiger, Lion, Leopard and Panther. Faecal samples (n=60) collected from various zoological gardens and enclosures in India were processed for the isolation of E. coli, followed by pathotyping by multiplex PCR targeting Shigatoxigenic (stx1 and stx2), intimin (eaeA), and enterohaemolysin (ehyA) genes. All STEC and EPEC isolates were subjected to in vitro antibiotic sensitivity test by disc diffusion method against twelve commonly used antibiotics. viz., chloramphenicol, Cefuroxime, Azithromycin, Cephalothin, Ciprofloxacin, Ceftriaxone, Norfloxacin, Ticarcillin+ clavulanic acid, Co-Trimoxazole, Tetracycline, Gentamicin, Piperacillin + Tazobactam. Total 28 E. coli isolates were recovered from fecal samples, which were found to be resistant to tetracycline, Norfloxacin, cefuroxime, Gentamicin, Chloramphenicol, Co-Trimoxazole and Azithromycin. No resistance was observed for cephalothin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, Ticarcillin+ clavulanic acid and Piperacillin + tazobactam. In the present study 21.42% isolates from captive wild felines were found to be resistant to more than two antibiotics.