Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Poultry in Umuahia, Nigeria

Nwachukwu Chidinma, Nwachukwu N. C., Nwankwo E. O., Nwachukwu E.

Microbiology Research Journal International · pp. 1–9 · Published 28 Jan 2024

10.9734/mrji/2024/v34i11421

Abstract

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among poultry was investigated. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) poses serious public health issues worldwide and infections resulting from these organisms present difficult therapeutic challenges. A total of 250 swab samples were collected from the skin, cloaca, and egg shells of chickens as well as from feeds, droppings and environment of poultry farms located in rural communities of Umuahia, Nigeria. The respective specimens were inoculated onto mannitol salt agar using the streak plate technique. Inoculated plates were incubated at 35–37 °C for 18 to 24 hours aerobically. Bacterial colonies showing typical characteristics of S. aureus (i.e., golden yellow pigmentation on mannitol salt agar resulting from the fermentation of mannitol) were subcultured onto freshly prepared nutrient agar plates to obtain pure colonies. The pure isolates were characterized by Gram staining, biochemical testing and molecular identification. Antimicrobial assays of the isolates were performed using various antibiotics. Out of 250 samples, 66 isolates of S. aureus were obtained. The antibiotic resistant pattern of S. aureus varied. The isolates were highly resistant to tetracycline, ampicillin, erythromycin and cefuroxime. The multiple antibiotic resistant (MAR) profile of S. aureus showed that 20(30.3%) exhibited MAR to nine antibiotics while 19(28.8%) isolates exhibited MAR to ten antibiotics. Out of the 66 isolates, 24(36.3%) isolates were Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus (MRSA). The highest prevalence of MRSA was obtained from skin and cloaca samples. This study has confirmed the existence of MRSA in poultry farms within the study area. The presence of S. aureus and MRSA in poultry poses a great challenge to food security, because most of the poultry where samples were collected in this study are small holder farms that supply chickens to the public for human consumption as a source of protein.

Staphylococcus aureus poultry antibiotic susceptibility methicillin resistant S. aureus

References (13)

  1. 1 Antibiotic Susceptibility Testing by a Standardized Single Disk Method [DOI]
  2. 2 Performance standards for antimicrobial susceptibility testing
  3. 3 Global trends in antimicrobial use in food animals [DOI]
  4. 4 Livestock-Associated MRSA: The Impact on Humans [DOI]
  5. 5 Livestock-associated Staphylococcus aureus: origin, evolution and public health threat [DOI]
  6. 6 Prevalence, trend and antimicrobial susceptibility of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Nigeria: a systematic review [DOI]
  7. 7 Multi-drug Resistant Coagulase Positive Staphylococcus aureus from Live and Slaughtered Chickens in Zaria, Nigeria [DOI]
  8. 8 The Evolution and Dynamics of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus [DOI]
  9. 9 Incidence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) In a Small Poultry in South West, Nigeria. [DOI]
  10. 10 Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus In Broiler Chickens with Special Reference to Beta-Lactam Resistance Genes in the Isolated Strains [DOI]
  11. 11 Epidemiology and Susceptibilities of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Northeastern Ohio [DOI]
  12. 12 COAGULASE-POSITIVE STAPHYLOCOCCI [DOI]
  13. 13 The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences [DOI]

Cited by 2

Production of Biogas from Poultry Droppings using Anaerobic Digestion

Abdulkadir Shehu, Hassan Maishanu Muhammad, Sabi’u Yelwa Muhammad · UMYU Journal of Microbiology Research (UJMR) · 2025

Showing 1 of 2 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

38

Page views

0

PDF downloads

20

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.