Sessions

Antimicrobial resistnace is currently one of the most serious global health challanges, posing a threat to both veterinary and human healtcare. Te food chain represents the most important point of connaction between these two spehres, as resistant bacteria and resistance genes can easily be transferred from animals to humans. This highlights the critical importance of regular monitoring of pathogens originating from food-producing animals.

In my thesis, I investigates the phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility of Escherichia coli (E. coli) strains isolated from healty pigs. Sampling was conducted at four domestic pig farms, and a total of 203 strans were isolated from animals of differens age of groups. After bacterial identification, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for 14 different antimicrobial agenst using a microdilution method.

The result showed particularly high levels of resistance os beta-lactam antibiotics (e.g., amoxicillin, cefotaxime) and tetracyclines (doxycycline). The proportion of non-wild-type strains carrying resistance genes was 58.6% for amoxicillin, 82.3% for cefotaxim and 51.7% for doxycycline. ESBL production was also identified of the 62.6% of the strains. In contrast, the population exhibited lower MIC values for florfenicol and marbofloxacin, indicating a relatively favorable susceptibility profile.

Overall, our study highlights that a significant proportion of E. coli strains isolated from pigs show resistance to multiple antibiotic classes, underscoring the importance of responsible antibiotic use and continuous resistance monitoring.