Antimicrobial resistance has gained global notoriety due to its public health concern and the emergence of multiple drug resistant bacteria in addition to lack of new antimicrobial agents. ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli and other zoonotic pathogens can be transmitted to humans and animals through the food chain, direct contact or contamination of shared environments. There is a surge in the rate of resistance to medically important antibiotics such as carbapenem, ESBL, aminoglycosides and flouroquinolones among bacteria of zoonotic importance. Oral administration of antimicrobials to humans primarily (by physician health care providers) and secondarily to animals importation of parent stock and day old chickens, farm management practice, lack of water acidification in poultry, contamination of feed, water and environment, contamination of plants with feces of animals are among the factors that may facilitate the occurrence, persistence, spread and transmission of ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli from animals to humans. Understanding these key factors will help reduce the level of resistance, thereby boosting the therapeutic effectiveness of antimicrobial agents in the treatment of animal and human infections.
Key words: Antimicrobial resistance; Food animals; ESBL/AmpC; Escherichia coli;
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