The Antibiotics Used in Livestock and Their Impact on Resistance in <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> and <i>Enterococcus hirae</i> on Farms in Gabon

• Main Authors: Désiré Otsaghe Ekore (Author), Richard Onanga (Author), Pierre Phillipe Mbehang Nguema (Author), Chloé Lozano (Author), Brice Serge Kumulungui (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/antibiotics11020224; 2079-6382
• Keywords: <i>E. faecium</i>; <i>E. hirae</i>; antibiotics; livestock; Gabon; Therapeutics. Pharmacology; RM1-950
• Source: Antibiotics, Vol 11, Iss 2, p 224 (2022)

The emergence of antibiotic resistance is a major concern around the world. The objective of this study was to investigate the antibiotics used in livestock and their impact on resistance in <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> and <i>Enterococcus hirae</i> on farms in Gabon. A structured questionnaire was used to collect information on the farms. Samples were collected from farms (<i>n</i> = 20) tested for <i>Enterococcus</i> by culture and isolation and were identified using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined by the disc diffusion method on Mueller Hinton agar. The 20 farms included laying hens (6), swine (6), sheep (4) and cattle farms (4). Tetracycline was the most used antibiotic family (91%) and the most used prophylactic method (47%) for the treatment of animals. A total of 555 samples were collected and 515 (93%) <i>Enterococcus</i> spp. isolates of the genus were obtained. The prevalence of <i>E. faecium</i> and <i>E. hirae</i> were 10% and 8%, respectively. The isolates from <i>E. faecium</i> and <i>E. hirae</i> we found were related to clinical and human isolates in the NCBI database. <i>E. faecium</i> and <i>E. hirae</i> isolates showed a high resistance to tetracycline (69% and 65%) and rifampicin (39% and 56%). The <i>tet(M)</i> gene was detected in 65 tetracycline-resistant isolates with a large majority in hens (78% (21/27) and 86% (12/14) in <i>E. faecium</i> and <i>E. hirae</i>, respectively). The consumption of antibiotics favours the emergence of antibiotic resistance in animals in Gabon.