Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns of Selected <i>Enterobacteriaceae</i> Isolated from Commercial Poultry Production Systems in Kiambu County, Kenya

Introduction: In the last two decades, the treatment of enteric infections has been complicated by the emergence of antimicrobial resistant strains. Occurrence of multidrug resistant Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase (ESBL) producing Enterobactaeraceae poses the greatest risk to public health by raising morbidity and mortality by six folds in developing countries. The present study aims to determine the antibiotics resistance patterns of selected Enterobacteriaceae isolated from commercial poultry production systems in Kiambu County. Methods: A laboratory based cross-sectional study was conducted in six purposively selected Sub-Counties of Kiambu County from October 2020, to February 2021. A total of 437 fecal samples were collected from each household. The antibiotic susceptibility testing using disk diffusion method was used against E. coli; Salmonella spps.; Shigella spps.; and Klebsiella spps. which were isolated and identified through standard biochemical. Results: Out of 437 fecal and stool samples collected, 591 isolates were recovered with E. coli (48.9%) being the most frequently identified, followed by Shigella spps. (18.8%), Salmonella spps. (18.3%), and Klebsiella spps. (14.0%). The study shows there was high prevalence of multiple resistance among isolates especially to Sulfamethoxazole (79%), Trimethoprim (71%), and Tetracyclines (59%), correspondingly. Additionally, the isolates showed the highest rate of susceptibility against Cefuroxime (94%), Gentamicin (93%), Ceftriaxone (91%), Cefepime (89%), Cefotaxime (85%), Ceftazidime (84%), and Chloramphenicol (77%), respectively. Discussion: Our study indicates that both fecal and stool materials from commercial poultry and humans can be reservoir of multi-drug resistance enteric’s which can be a potential route of transmission of resistance genes, which pose a great risk to public health of Kiambu Residence.