Safety And Antibiotic Resistance Profile Of Escherichia coliContaminating poultry Feeds On Selected Farms In Mbarara District, Southwestern Uganda
| dc.contributor.author | Kobutungi Eunice | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2026-08-18T13:50:06Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2026-08-18T13:50:06Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2023-09 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Background: The alarming occurrence ofEscherichia coli contamination in poultry feeds has caused hugeeconomicburdenstofarmers due to its rapid development of antibiotic resistance causing highmortalityrates, low productiveand eventually transmission to humans mainly via the food chain. The present study was aimed at determining the safety and antibiotic résistance profile of E. coli contaminating poultry feeds on selected farms in Mbarara district, Southwestern Uganda. Methods:A cross sectional study design was conducted between January, and April, 2023. One hundred fifty two feed samples (consisted of broilers starter, broiler finisher, layer starter and layer finisher feeds) were collected from selected poultry farms. Ten- fold serial dilutions ofeach homogenized sample were surface spread on Eosine Methyelene Blue (EMB) and then plates incubated at 37 ºC for 48 h to enumerate the colony-forming units (CFU) per gram. Phenotypic confirmation of E. coliwas done using conventional biochemical tests. Antibiotic resistance profile was determined using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion assay. A conventional uniplex polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect resistance genes; blaCMY, and tetracycline tet(A). SPSS-20 was used to analyze data using one way ANOVA and logistic regression to obtain comparisons and crude odds ratios. Statistical significance was considered at p ≤ 0.05. Results: A prevalence of 67.1% E. coli contamination in poultry feeds was obtained with higher occurrences in layer finisher feeds (84.2%) followed by the broiler finisher feeds (78.9%), layer starter feeds (71.1%) and least in broiler starter feeds (34.2%). The E. coli counts ranged from 0.079 ± 0.031 to 7.40 ± 31.66 (x105) CFU/g with higher loadsin the layer finisher feeds (7.40 ± 31.66 x106 CFU/g). There was a significant association between the type of feeds and the prevalence of E. coli; layer finisher feeds (cOR= 10.26, p ≤ 0.001; 95% CI; 3.415 – 30.804), the layer starter (cOR= 4.7, p= 0.002; 95% CI; 1.790 – 12.450) and broiler finisher (cOR= 7.212, p ≤ 0.0001; 95% CI; 2.597 – 20.166). Majority of the isolates harbored tet(A) gene (85.3%) as compared to blaCMY gene (59.8%) and combination of tet(A) + blaCMY (44.1%). Conclusions:The accelerated occurrence of MDR E. coli in poultry feeds is significantly associated with the type/nature of ingredients used during feed processing and addition of antibiotics as growth boosters. The agricultural sector should sensitize farmers on implications of antibiotic usage in feeds and also enforce the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system to address feeds and food safety | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12493/14904 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Kampala International University | |
| dc.title | Safety And Antibiotic Resistance Profile Of Escherichia coliContaminating poultry Feeds On Selected Farms In Mbarara District, Southwestern Uganda | |
| dc.type | Thesis |