Occurrence of ESBL Producing Klebsiella sp. in Selected Broiler Farms in Afikpo, Ebonyi State Nigeria

Abstract

The study was aimed at examining the occurrence of ESBL producing Klebsiella sp. in selected broiler farms in Afikpo. Fecal droppings from randomly selected five (5) poultry farms were collected, labeled and sent to the microbiology laboratory for analysis. 5g weighed out, ground in mortar and dissolved in 10ml distilled water and used to prepare ten-fold serial dilution. By spread plate technique, 0.1ml was inoculated onto prepared media; incubated for 24 hrs at 37oC. by standard laboratory protocol, isolates where characterized as Klebsiella sp. isolates were subjected for antibiotics Susceptibility Testing by disc diffusion and zone of inhibition recorded. All the strains with diameter less than 27mm for cefotaxime and less than 25mm for ceftriaxone, were selected for checking ESBL production and by Double Disc Synergy Test (DDST) method placed at a distance of 15 mm. increase of zone of inhibition above 5 mm in the presence of amoxicillin (20 μg) and clavulanic acid (10μg) indicated presence of ESBL producer. Result showed high incidence of ESBL producing Klebsiella sp. with high resistance to the tested antibiotics. Only six Tetracycline (TE), Levofloxacin (LE), Amoxyclav (AMC), out of the 13 antibiotics inhibited the growth of Klebsiella sp. and three out of the five samples showed the presence of ESBL Klebsiella sp. producers. From the foregoing, we recommend that there was need to do periodic surveillance at each poultry farm to monitor the prevalence of ESBL producers and take measures to contain their spread.