Molecular Characterization and Diversity of Enteric Bacteria Isolated from Chicken Feeds

Abstract

This study focused on molecular characterization and diversity of enteric bacteria isolated from different brands of commercially produced chicken feeds sold in Anambra State. A total of 1,536 different chicken feed samples (starter, growers, finisher and layers) were collected from the consumers, retailers and wholesalers and screened for the presence of enteric bacteria using pour plate technique. The isolates were characterized and identified using their colony descriptions, biochemical and molecular characteristics. The diversity of the enteric bacteria was determined by carefully recording the number of occurrences of each identified isolate from the studied feed samples. The result of this study revealed that Escherichia coli O157:H7 SS52 (EC), Salmonella serovar Typhimurium U288 (ST), Escherichia coli SEC470 (ES), Salmonella serovar Enteritidis YU39 (SY) and Salmonella serovar Enteritidis FM366 (SE) were significantly (P<0.05) isolated from the feed samples. The organisms were detected most from the samples collected from the consumers while the samples from the wholesalers showed the least isolates. EC (60.49%) was the most predominant isolate, followed by SE (22.13%) and ST (16.52%). The occurrences of ES (0.66%) and SY (0.21%) were non significant (p>0.05). This study has revealed that EC, ST, ES, SY and SE were the enteric bacteria detected from the studied feed samples, of which EC was recorded most.

Keywords: Molecular characterization, Enteric bacteria, Chicken Feeds, Diversity.