Virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance profile of Escherichia coli isolated from nursery piglets and drinking water
Malgarin, Carolina MacielTakeuti, Karine LudwigLara, Anne Caroline deBarcellos, David Emilio Santos Neves de
Background: One of the most frequent health problems in the swine industry is the post-weaning diarrhea in nursery pigs, which leads to significant losses due to weight loss, dehydration, cost of medication and mortality. Escherichia coli (E. coli) is one of the main bacterial agents of the post-weaning diarrhea. To investigate the possibility of enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) transmission through drinking water to nursery piglets, the objective of this study was to isolate, characterize by virulence factors, and compare the antimicrobial resistance profiles of E. coli from drinking water samples in nurseries and from rectal swabs of their piglets presenting post-weaning colibacillosis.Materials, Methods & Results: Fifteen rectal swabs from diarrheic piglets in their first three weeks after weaning and one water sample were collected from each of ten nurseries located in Rio Grande do Sul State, south of Brazil. After enrichment with a commercial broth medium, water samples were cultured in blood agar, as well as the rectal swab samples, and the characteristic colonies were identified by standard biochemical analysis. Following isolation and identification of E. coli, the colonies from water samples and their corresponding piglets samples were characterized by multiplex PCR in order to determine specific ETEC fimbria and toxin genes. Finally, all E. coli isolates were submitted to antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Virulence factors and antimicrobial sensitivity could then be compared between water and piglets samples. The difference in the antimicrobial resistance frequency for each of the sample groups were compared using the multi comparison test. E. coli was isolated in four out of the ten water samples, although none of the water samples presented ETEC virulence factors.[...](AU)
Texto completo