Investigation of antimicrobial resistance and extended spectrum beta- lactamase production in Escherichia coli isolates of equine feces origin

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the existence of ESBL and determine the resistance against various antibiotics of E. coli strains isolated from feces examples obtained from racing and jumping horses. One hundred E. coli isolates (racing: 37, jumping: 63) were analysed with 16 antibiotics by using the disc diffusion method and ESBL existence by fenotypic confirmatory test. The antibiotic resistance prevalences were compared between racing and jumping groups of horses. The highest resistance was obtained against tetracycline in both groups with 81.1% (30) in racing horses and 20.6% (13) in jumping horses. ESBL production has been determined in only 6 isolates among 100 E. coli isolates and all 6 ESBL positive isolates were isolated from the racing horses. In conclusion, the resistance prevalences to various antibiotics in racing horses were higher than jumping horses and ESBL production in the isolates from jumping horses was determined. The contamination of these agents in ecosystem could cause a potential risk factor for public health.