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Background and Aim: Rabbits are a highly sensitive species and susceptible to various bacterial pathogens that may be causative agents for early embryonic death. This study aimed to explore the administration of different bacterial agents in does suffering from early embryonic death. Furthermore, identification of genes associated with virulence was performed to identify the phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance patterns that may increase the virulence of pathogens and lead to early embryonic death. Materials and Methods: We isolated and identified bacterial agents in 106 samples from live and dead female rabbits that had undergone early embryonic death, including liver and intestine tissue, aborted fetuses, discharges, and vaginal swabs. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was conducted to confirm the identity of the isolated bacterial strains and their virulence. Moreover, antibiotic resistance was studied phenotypically and genotypically. Results: We isolated Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella multocida, and Listeria monocytogenes. PCR confirmed typical identification except in P. multocida, which was confirmed as Gallibacterium spp. in some cases. The final percentage of detection was 34%, 30.2%, 16.9%, 13.2%, and 11.3%, respectively. Virulence properties were investigated using different designated genes. All Salmonella strains harbored invA, stn, avrA, and ompf genes, while the sopE gene was identified in 31.25%. E. coli strains harboring the iss gene lacked the shiga toxin (stx1) gene. L. monocytogenes and S. aureus strains harbored the hemolysin gene (66.7% and 33.4%, respectively). Multidrug resistance was detected phenotypically and genotypically in most strains. Each bacterial pathogen had a different antibiotic resistance profile. Conclusion: Multiple bacterial species may contribute to early embryonic death in does. Furthermore, the combined infection could be the main cause of early embryonic death. Thus, monitoring programs should bear this in mind and focus on the early detection of these bacterial agents in female rabbits to avoid embryonic death.

Aim: Antimicrobial resistance is a global health threat. This study investigated the prevalence of Escherichia coli in imported 1-day-old chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults. Materials and Methods: The liver, heart, lungs, and yolk sacs of 148 imported batches of 1-day-old flocks (chicks, 45; ducklings, 63; and turkey poults, 40) were bacteriologically examined for the presence of E. coli. Results: We isolated 38 E. coli strains from 13.5%, 6.7%, and 5.4% of imported batches of 1-day-old chicks, ducklings, and turkey poults, respectively. They were serotyped as O91, O125, O145, O78, O44, O36, O169, O124, O15, O26, and untyped in the imported chicks; O91, O119, O145, O15, O169, and untyped in the imported ducklings; and O78, O28, O29, O168, O125, O158, and O115 in the imported turkey poults. The E. coli isolates were investigated for antibiotic resistance against 16 antibiotics using the disk diffusion method and were found resistant to cefotaxime (60.5%), nalidixic acid (44.7%), tetracycline (44.7%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (42.1%). The distribution of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and ampC β-lactamase genes was blaTEM (52.6%), blaSHV (28.9%), blaCTX-M (39.5%), blaOXA-1 (13.1%), and ampC (28.9%). Conclusion: Imported 1-day-old poultry flocks may be a potential source for the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant E. coli and the ESBL genes in poultry production.

Rabbit farming is a growing industry to satisfy the great demand for food, particularly in developing countries. In this study, out of 450 samples collected from 150 rabbit cases suffering from wry neck, 100 from clinically diseased rabbits and 50 freshly dead ones with a history of wry neck. All cases were subjected to clinical examination, bacterial culture and polymerase chain reaction. 30 samples out of 450 samples were positive for M. haemolytica with an incidence of 6.6% mixed with E.coli (serotypes O78, O26 and O2) and Staph aureus with incidence of 3.3% and 2.2% respectively were concomitantly isolated. In-vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed a wide range of multidrug resistance against penicillins and fluoroquinolones whereas colistin sulphate was the most effective antibiotic followed by chloramphenicol, neomycin and oxytetracycline. The findings of this study revealed that multidrug resistant bacteria constitute a serious problem in commercial rabbiteries in Egypt. PCR technique was done on original samples and it appeared that conventional PCR technique more sensitive than the conventional microbiological technique (CMT). Effective control measures are required to mitigate the economic impact on the rabbit industry and to prevent possible public hazards.