ISOLATION, MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION AND ANTIBIOGRAM RESPONSE OF BACTERIA FROM DEAD-INSHELL CHICKS

Abstract

The present study was conducted for isolation, identification and molecular characterization of bacteria causing dead-in-shell chicks in different hatcheries with determination of their antibiogram profiles. For this purpose a total of 60 samples were collected randomly from dead-in-shell chicks. Bacteria were investigated using standard bacteriological techniques. The identified isolates were characterized by molecular techniques like PCR, Electropherogram and phylogenetic analysis. The identified isolates were studied for their in vitro antibiotic sensitivity by agar disk diffusion method against commonly used antibiotics. The number of bacteria isolated from dead-in-shell chicks were E. coli 29 (32.2%), Salmonella spp. 31 (34.5%), Staphylococcus spp. 17 (18.9%), Pseudomonas spp. 11 (12.2%) and Aeromonas hydrophila 2 (2.2%). The highest number of bacteria were recovered from lungs (44) followed by yolk (25) and intestine (21). Antibiogram profile revealed that, E. coli were sensitive to Levofloxacin and Azithromycin, Salmonella spp. were sensitive to Ciprofloxacin and Gentamicin, Staphylococcus spp. were sensitive to Levofloxacin, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin and Chloramphenicol and resistant to Penicillin, Pseudomonas spp. were sensitive to Levofloxacin and Gentamicin and Aeromonas hydrophila were sensitive to Levofloxacin and Ciprofloxacin. In addition, Multidrug Resistant Organisms (MDROs) were also found which suggest that appropriate antibiotic should be selected before antibiotic therapy to chickens. From this study it was concluded that dead-in-shell chicks are quite common in hatcheries in our country and that bacterial contamination in the hatcheries constitute an important threat to the poultry industry in the area. The results of this study would be helpful for prevention and control of bacterial causes of dead-in-shell chicks.