Molecular Characterization Of Antimicrobial Drug Resistant Escherichia Coli Isolated From The Environment At Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka

Escherichia coli are commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and other warm-blooded organisms. Since E. coli can be discharge through deposition of fecal material, it has become habituated to soil and water in the environment. Hence the present study was undertaken to isolate and identify E. coli from various environments (viz., cattle waste, piggery, poultry and sewage water) and to determine their antibiogram patterns to different group of antimicrobial agents. A total of 120 samples comprising cattle wastes (30), poultry droppings (30), piggery (30), sewage water/sediment (30) were collected from the Dakshina Kannada and analyzed for the presence of E. coli. Of total samples screened, 82 (68.3%) were found to be positive to E. coli and among the 82 E. coli strains, 25 were isolated from cattle wastes, 18 from piggery, 13 from poultry and 26 from sewage samples. The antibiogram pattern of these strains showed varied multi-drug resistance profile to the selected antibiotics. Of 82 strains, 19 (23.2%) were susceptible to all the antibiotics and 63 were resistant to at least one of the drug tested. The results from present study revealed the higher relative resistance pattern to the tested antibiotic among E. coli suggesting their potentiality in transferring MDR thereby posing public health concerns in treating problems.