Antibiotic resistance and prevalence of virulence and quinolone resistance genes in Escherichia coli strains of avian origin isolated from semi-industrial farms in Cote d'Ivoire

Avian colibacillosis is a serious pathology caused by extra-intestinal E. coli strains that cause huge economic losses for farmers.In this study, antibiotic resistance and virulence of avian E. coli strain isolated from a few semi-industrial farms in Cote d'Ivoirewere evaluated. To do this, 75 strains of E. coli were isolated from chicken organs with colibacillosis by microbiological methodsin agar and biochemical media. Then, the resistance of these strains to antibiotics was evaluated by the antibiogram method withdisks, based on the diffusion of antibiotics in agar medium. PCR was used to search for virulence genes (PapC, Tsh and Cnf) andquinolone resistance (qnrA and qnrB) on ciprofloxacin and oxolinic acid resistant strains. The results of the antibiogram showedmulti-resistant strains with high resistance for Oxacillin (100%), Amoxicillin (84%), Tetracycline (94%), Spiramycin (70%), Oxolinic acid (64%). The lowest levels of resistance were observed with Colistin (0%), Gentamicin (20%) and Ciprofloxacin (27%). The PCR revealed a remarkable presence of quinolone resistance genes, qnr A and qnr B with the same rate of 16.12%. As for virulence, only the Pap C gene was detected with a rate of 12.90%. These results are useful in the surveillance of antimicrobial resistance and in the control of avian colibacillosis.