Virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance of pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from diarrheic weaned piglets in Korea

For efficient prevention and treatment of enteric colibacillosis, understanding about latest virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli is essentially needed. The aim of this study was to survey antimicrobial resistance and determine the prevalence of fimbriae and enterotoxin genes among 118 pathogenic E. coli isolates obtained from Korean pigs with diarrhea between 2016 and 2017. The genes for the toxins and adhesins were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The susceptibility of the E. coli isolates to antimicrobials were tested using the standard Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. The most prevalent fimbrial antigen was F18 (40.7%), followed by F4 (16.9%), and the most prevalent combinations of toxin genes were Stx2e (21.2%), STb:EAST-1 (19.5%), and STa:STb (16.9%), respectively. Among the pathotypes, enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC) was the most predominant (67.8%), followed by Shiga-toxin producing E. coli (STEC, 23.7%). We confirmed high resistance rates to chloramphenicol (88.1%), tetracycline (86.4%), streptomycin (86.4%), and ampicillin (86.4%). And the majorities of isolates (90.7%) showed multi-drug resistance which means having resistance to 3 or more subclasses of antimicrobials. Results of this study can be a source of valuable data for investigating the epidemiology of and control measures for enteric colibacillosis in Korean piggeries.