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Page No. : 28-31

ABSTRACT

Avian colibacillosis caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) affects poultry industry with economic impact. ETEC are mainly responsible for travellers and infantile diarrhoea. It can be transmitted through food or water contaminated with animal or human faeces. This study was conducted for characterization of E. coli isolates obtained from broiler farms and detection of virulence genes of the isolated strains. A total of 180 samples including 160 poultry faeces, five feed and 15 drinking water samples were collected from broiler farms located in western Uttarpradesh, India. The samples were processed immediately for the isolation and identification of E. coli by adopting standard procedures. Out of 160 faecal samples, 113 samples (70.63%) were found to be phenotypically positive for E. coli based on cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics. All the feed and water samples collected from poultry farm were negative for E. coli. All the E. coli isolates obtained were further analyzed for the presence of virulence genes viz. shiga toxin producing E. coli (stx 1, stx 2), enteropathogenic E. coli (eaeA, bfp) and enterotoxigenic E. coli (lt, stII) by multiplex PCR while hemolysin (hlyA) and enteroaggregative E. coli (aggR) was screened by uniplex PCR. The results revealed that only three isolates (1.87%) were positive for enterotoxigenic E. coli carrying lt genes, while all other genes were absent in the flock. However, detection of virulence gene of ETEC among broilers urges the precautions to be followed to avoid the further transmission of this pathogen into the food chain.

Keywords: E. coli, enterotoxigenic, poultry, virulence