Presence of Coliforms in Water, Poultry Mouth and Rectal Swabs from Selected Smallholder Poultry Farming Projects of Capricorn District, South Africa

Background: Limited biosecurity measures in smallholder poultry facilities expose birds to various pathogens as a result, poultry products particularly raw ones are reported to be responsible for cases of human foodborne diseases. The aim of the study was to profile and characterise the zoonotic bacterial pathogens in water, poultry mouth and rectal swabs in a value chain project of Capricorn district, Limpopo Province, South Africa.
Methods: A total of 74 samples comprising of 14 water samples, 60 mouth and rectal swab samples were collected from the farms. The samples were screened for the presence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. through selective cultivation. Result: The study revealed that the water resources, mouth and rectal swab samples of chickens were contaminated by coliform bacteria. Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp., were dominant isolates. E. coli strains that were isolated from the water sources, mouth and rectal swabs of the chickens showed strong resistance to gentamycin, neomycin, penicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, erythromycin, nalidixic acid, ciprofloxacin and ampicillin. K. pneumoniae showed resistant to neomycin; penicillin; erythromycin while K. oxytoca and E. absuriae showed similar antibiotic resistance profile as penicillin, erythromycin, nalidixic acid and ampicillin.
