Isolating virulent and antibiotic-resistant strains of Enterococcus sp. from food and veterinary clinic samples from different regions of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Enterococci play a vital role in the spread of nosocomial infections and can also transfer virulence, along with genes encoding
antimicrobial resistance, to other bacteria. To juxtapose isolates’ virulence traits, samples from veterinary clinics and animal-related food, as well as from cages of pet animals and birds, were randomly collected from Punjab, Pakistan, brought to the workplace, and kept at 4°C until further processing. Bile esculin agar was employed to select Enterococci, which were then verified by their biochemical and morphological traits. The motility test, biofilm formation, cytolysin activity, antibacterial analysis, and gelatinase formation test were among the virulence characteristics of the isolated Enterococcus strains that were further examined. 73% of the isolated strains were found to be motile, 24.4% exhibited β- hemolysis, and 75.6% exhibited γ-hemolysis. Furthermore, 25.6% of the isolated strains produced moderate amounts of biofilm, whereas 37.8% of the strains produced strong amounts. However, when tested against various antibiotics included in our study, 28% (23 of 82) of the isolates were MDRs, and 56% of the strains tested positive for gelatin production. Given that Enterococcus is thought to be the third most important cause of nosocomial infections, this conclusion can be drawn. These bacteria have the potential to cause infection and potentially serious health problems, as evidenced by the fact that some of the isolated strains in this study displayed virulence traits and were resistant to different antibiotics. As a result, it is recommended that livestock environments and veterinary clinics must be continuously observed.