Authors : Vijay N. Charde, Jimmy B. Vaidya and Mithila Thagnaik.
Page Nos : 88-96
Description :
In view of the increasing emergence of antimicrobial resistant E. coli strains and the on-going discussion about environmental reservoirs, it is important to evaluate antibiotic resistance of human pathogens associated with animals. In the present study, 30 fecal Escherichia coli isolates, recovered from Human (UTI and diarrhea patient) and Rat (Rattus norvegicus, R. rattus) fecal matter were studied for susceptibility to nine antimicrobial drugs. The prevalence of strains resistant to routine antibiotics like tetracycline, amikacin, ampicillin, piperacillin, and streptomycin were 72% in human and 40% in rat fecal matter. These findings demonstrate that resistance gene reservoirs are increasing in healthy persons as well as in others mammals. Ingestion of antibiotics is known to provide selective pressure ultimately leading to a higher prevalence of resistant bacteria in urban area, even among who have not taken antibiotics. The source of resistant organisms in our study population is not known, but possible sources are food, water, and person-to-person transfer.
