Amos O Onyango1, Shyamalima Saikia1, Indrani Gogoi1, Minakshi Puzari2 and P Chetia3*

¹Research Scholar, Department of Life Sciences, Dibrugarh University, Dibru- garh-786004, Assam, India
²Assistant Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Dibrugarh University, Dibru- garh-786004, Assam, India
³Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Dibrugarh University, Dibrugarh-786004, Assam, India

*Corresponding Author: P Chetia, Professor, Department of Life Sciences, Dibru- garh University, Dibrugarh-786004, Assam, India.

Received: June 01, 2026; Published: July 29, 2026

Abstract

The presence of β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae in poultry is an important public health concern because they can be transmitted through the food chain. In this study, β-lactamase-associated resistance genes and efflux pump activity of E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolated from chicken meat in Dibrugarh and neighbouring districts of Assam, India, were investigated. In total, 210 fresh chicken meat samples were taken from retail outlets and poultry farms. Standard microbiological methods were used to identify the bacterial isolates, which were then subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, phenotypic confirmation of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) detection of blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCTX-M and blaOXA, and assessment of efflux pump activity using the ethidium bromide agar cartwheel method. Among the 513 bacterial isolates recovered, 306 (59.6%) were E. coli and 207 (40.4%) were K. pneumoniae. Overall, 228 (44.4%) isolates were resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, and Resistance was significantly higher in E. coli than in K. pneumoniae (χ2 = 8.44, p = 0.0037). 133 E. coli and 70 K. pneumoniae were confirmed by PCR for the presence of β-lactamase-associated genes. A total of 203 genes were detected, including blaTEM (61), blaCTX-M (61), blaSHV (53) and blaOXA (28) genes. The distribution of genes was significantly different between the two species of bacteria (χ2 = 9.32; p = 0.025). Activity of efflux pumps was observed in 72 (31.6%) resistant isolates, with no significant difference between E. coli and K. pneumoniae (p = 0.126). The results of this study showed high prevalence of β-lactamase-mediated resistance determinants and efflux-mediated Resistance among poultry-derived E. coli and K. pneumoniae, indicating that poultry meat might be a reservoir of antimicrobial Resistance. Improved antimicrobial usage, molecular surveillance, and One Health approaches are key to reducing the spread of resistant bacteria via the food supply chain.

Keywords: Assam; Efflux; β-Lactamase Gene; Escherichia coli; Klebsiella pnuemoniae; One Health; Poultry Meat

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Citation

Citation: P Chetia., et al. “Prevalence of Beta-Lactamase Genes and Efflux Activity in Klebsiella pneumoniae and E. coli Isolated from Chicken Meat Samples Collected from Dibrugar City and the Surrounding, Assam, India". Acta Scientific Microbiology 9.8 (2026): 64-73.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2026 P Chetia., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.