Veterinary antibiotic resistance, residues, and ecological risks in environmental samples obtained from poultry farms, Egypt.

In Egypt, poultry production constitutes one of the main sources of pollution with veterinary antibiotics (VAs) into the environment. About 80 % of meat production in Egypt is of poultry origin, and the potential environmental risks associated with the use of VAs in these farms have not yet been properly evaluated. Thus, the main purpose of this research was to evaluate the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant enteric key bacteria and the incidence of residual antibiotics in poultry farm environmental samples and to determine whether fertilizing soils with poultry litter from farms potentially brings ecological risks. From December 2011 to September 2012, a total of 225 litter, bird dropping, and water samples were collected from 75 randomly selected boiler poultry farms. A high prevalence of Escherichia coli (n = 179; 79.5 %) in contrast to the low prevalence of Salmonella spp. (n = 7; 3.1 %) was detected. Amongst E. coli isolates, serotypes O142:K86, O125:K70, O91:K, and O119:K69 were the most common. Meanwhile, Salmonella enterica serotypes emek and enteritidis were recovered. The antibiograms using the disc diffusion method revealed significantly more common resistant and multi-resistant isolates in broiler poultry farms. Residues of tetracycline and ciprofloxacin were detected at 2.125 and 1.401 mg kg(-1) mean levels, respectively, in environmental samples contaminated with E. coli-resistant strains by HPLC. The risk evaluations highlighted that tetracycline residues in poultry litter significantly display environmental risks with a hazard quotient value above 1 (1.64). Our study implies that ineffective implementation of veterinary laws which guide and guard against incorrect VA usage may potentially bring health and environmental risks.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls Water Pollution along the River Nile, Egypt.

Ten polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were determined in water samples collected along the River Nile using gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD). PCB concentrations ranged from 14 to 20 µg/L, which were higher than those reported in previous studies, indicating serious PCB pollution in the River Nile. PCB congener profiles varied depending on the sampling sties. PCB-138 was the predominant congener accounting for more than 18% of total PCBs. The composition of PCB congeners in the water revealed that highly chlorinated PCB technical mixtures such as Aroclor 1254 was the main PCB production historically used in Egypt. An increasing trend in PCB levels from the upper stream to the Nile estuaries was observed. The calculated flux of PCBs indicated that 6.8 tons of PCBs is dumped into the Mediterranean Sea each year from the River Nile. The hazard quotients and carcinogenic risk caused by PCB pollution in the River Nile were above the acceptable level indicating that PCBs in the River Nile water pose adverse health effects for all age groups. Our findings revealed that PCBs possess a serious risk to the Egyptian population that depends mainly on the River Nile as a source of water. Thus, stricter legislation and regulatory controls should be applied to reduce the risk of PCBs in Egypt.

Re-emergence of multi-drug resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Stanley from cattle.

During 2009, Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica serovar Stanley isolates were recovered from cattle diagnostic specimens in southern Japan, and the isolates were examined to characterize the genetic determinants involved in this new pathogenicity that associated with mortality in cattle. All the isolates were multi-drug resistance exhibited resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole, oxytetracycline, and kanamycin (ACSSuT-Km) encoded by blaTEM, catA, aadA1, sul1, tet(A), and aphA1 genes, respectively. Class 1 integrons of 1.5-kb size were detected in all MDR isolates. The isolates harboured easily transferable plasmids of ca. 210-kb with the potential of transmitting resistance phenotype and genotype detected in the donor isolates. XbaI-digested PFGE patterns generated two related clusters implicated in the dissemination of multi-drug resistance amongst Salmonella Stanley isolates. An emergence of multi-drug resistant Salmonella Stanley amongst food-producing animals, including cattle is a threat to human health, as resistant isolates may be transmitted to humans through the food chain.