Occurrence of Metallo-Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacteriaceae from a Local Poultry Farm in Abakaliki, Nigeria

The production of beta-lactamases especially the expanded/extended beta-lactamases such as the metallo beta-lactamase (MBL) enzymes by Gram negative bacteria (GNB) are amongst the top arsenal of pathogenic bacteria used to make the therapeutic effect of some available drugs less efficacious. This study evaluated the phenotypic production of MBLs from 50 cloacal swabs of poultry birds in a poultry farm in Abakaliki metropolis, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The samples were bacteriologically analyzed using eosin methylene blue (EMB) agar and MacConkey agar; and MBL production was phenotypically detected using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method (for antibiogram) and the inhibition based assay technique (for MBL production). Out of the 50 cloacal swab samples analyzed in this study, 39 isolates were Escherichia coli while 33 isolates were positive for Klebsiella species. All the E. coli and Klebsiella species showed high resistance to most of the tested antibiotics especially to imipenem, meropenem, ciprofloxacin, sulphamethoxazole trimethoprim, cefoxitin, ertapenem and gentamicin. Nine (9) isolates of E. coli (23.1 %) were phenotypically detected as MBL producers while 6 isolates of Klebsiella species (18.2 %) were confirmed as MBL producing strains. This present day study accentuates the growing resistance mechanism in the community; and thus calls for concerted effort to detect and prevent the dissemination of antibiotic resistant microbes in the community. Further molecular characterization is required to classify the genetic elements responsible for the dissemination of MBL-producing microbes in this environment.