Investigation of the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli, Enterococcus species isolated from pigs and butchers good hygienic practices

This study investigated the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species isolated from pigs in the northern part of Malawi and analysed the knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of butchers concerning good hygienic practices. The KAP questionnaire was administered to 75 participants and 232 caecal samples were collected from pigs slaughtered at randomly selected slaughter places in Nkhata Bay, Rumphi, Mzimba, Karonga, and Mzuzu city. Overall KAP scores for knowledge, attitude, and practices were 81%, 73% and 46%, respectively. A positive correlation between the butchers’ knowledge and their attitude (r = .46, p<0.001), knowledge and practices (r = .38, p<0.001), and attitude and practices (r = .76, p<0.001) was observed. Microbiological tests confirmed the presence of Escherichia coli and Enterococcus species by biochemical tests. Escherichia coli resistance to ampicillin was high (82.2%) and this was followed by trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (75.8%), gentamicin (22.5%), cefotaxime (13.1%), ciprofloxacin (7.9%), and tigecycline (0.5%). In terms of Enterococcus species, resistance to vancomycin, ampicillin and ciprofloxacin were at 79.7%, 50% and 23.4%, respectively.