Antibiotic Resistance Profiling of Pseudomonas Species Isolated from Cloacal Swab of Domestic Pigeons

Abstract

Antibiotics are used to treat a number of bacterial infections. However,
overuse or misuse of antibiotics has raised serious concerns against antibiotic
resistance amongst bacteria. Hence, antibiotics are becoming inefficient in treating
bacterial infections leading to an increase in mortality rate worldwide. The domestic
animals especially birds are a major source of transmission of antibiotic resistant
bacteria in human through excrement and cause bacterial diseases in human. The aim
of the present study was to assess the efficacy of different antibiotics prior to their
prescription as a measure to prevent antibiotic resistance in bacteria. For this 120
cloacal swab samples were collected from the domestic pigeons of District Narowal to
isolate Pseudomonas sp. and assess the efficacy of different antibiotics prior to their
prescription as a measure to prevent antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Antibacterial
activities were evaluated by performing antibiotic susceptibility pattern of
Pseudomonas isolates against 18 commercially available antibiotic discs
[Trimethoprime (TMP), Clarithromycin (CLR), Gentamicin (GEN), Chloramphenicol
(C), Ampicillin (AM), Streptomycin (S), Kanamycin (K), Nitrofurantoin (F),
Amoxicillin (AX), Tazobactam (TPZ), Imipenem (IPM), Meropenem (MEM),
Levofloxacin (LEV), Nalidixic acid (NA), Ceftriaxone (CRO), Amikacin (AK),
Tetracycline (TE) and Ciprofloxacin (CIP)] by using Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion
method. Amongst these antibiotics, notably Pseudomonas sp. showed highest sensitivity
to Clarithromycin (93.94%), Ampicillin (100%), Amikacin (93%) and Nalidixic
(100%). This study established a general antibiotic resistance pattern of commercially
used different antibiotics for commonly encountered clinical isolates. Moreover,
antibiotics susceptibility tests (AST) should be carried out prior to prescribing
antibiotics to the patient. Additionally, the antibacterial activities of local clinical
isolates and change in bacteriological profile due to indiscriminate use of antibiotics
associated with appearance of multiple drug resistant strains should be evaluated. It
was concluded that preventive measure and their implementation is quite necessary to
control antibiotic resistance and domestic pigeons can be a carrier of Pseudomonas
species and can transmit through their fecal material to humans and other animals.