Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli in “No Antibiotics Ever” Broiler Farms
Courtney A. Fancher, Hudson T. Thames, Mary Gates Colvin, Mercedes Smith, Alyssa Easterling, Nikhil Nuthalapati, Li Zhang, Aaron Kiess, Thu T. N. Dinh, Anuraj Theradiyil Sukumaran
Abstract
Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli causes one of the most detrimental bacterial diseases to the United States poultry industry, colibacillosis. Colibacillosis leads to decreased performance, early mortality, and subsequent production loss. Previously, colibacillosis was largely mitigated by the use of antimicrobial growth promoters. Due to concerns about antimicrobial resistance, the use of these promoters has been largely removed from the broiler industry. With recent shifts in the poultry industry to NAE broiler production, there is an increase in bacterial disease and mortality. We do not know how this shift to NAE affects APEC prevalence within broiler farms. Therefore, in the current study, we attempted to assess the prevalence and virulence of E. coli within an antibiotic-free broiler environment, assessed antimicrobial susceptibility, and identified the serogroups of virulent and nonvirulent E. coli.