Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and Molecular Genotyping of Brucella melitensis Isolates at the Human Animal Interface in Upper Egypt and Egyptian Boundaries | ||
| Egyptian Journal of Veterinary Sciences | ||
| Article 11, Volume 56, Issue 12, December 2025, Pages 3157-3167 PDF (1.06 M) | ||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejvs.2024.306357.2270 | ||
| Authors | ||
| Nour H. Abdel-Hamid* 1; Mai R. Zaffan2; Mahmoud E.R. Hamdy3; Maha A. Sabry4; Mahmoud H. Abdelhalem2; Ahmed Y. M. Elshiekh5; Walid Elmonir6; Mahmoud E. Hashad7 | ||
| 1WOAH Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Department of Brucellosis Research, Agricultural Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, P.O. Box 264‑Giza, Cairo 12618, Egypt.. | ||
| 2WOAH Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Department of Brucellosis Research, Agricultural Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, P.O. Box 264‑Giza, Cairo 12618, Egypt. | ||
| 3WOAH Reference Laboratory for Brucellosis, Department of Brucellosis Research, Agricultural Research Center, Animal Health Research Institute, P.O. Box 264‑Giza, Cairo 12618, Egypt. 2Department of zoonosis, Faculty of Veterinary | ||
| 4Department of zoonosis, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. | ||
| 5Department of Critical Care, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. | ||
| 6Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine (Zoonoses), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt | ||
| 7Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt. | ||
| Abstract | ||
| This study aimed to assess the antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) using the disc diffusion method of Brucella melitensis isolates (n = 42) recovered from humans and slaughtered seropositive animals to 10 antibiotics commonly prescribed for the treatment of human brucellosis. Additionally, we used ERIC-PCR to evaluate the genetic diversity of Brucella isolates recovered from animals and humans in Upper Egypt and the Egyptian borders. The Brucella isolates from small ruminants (n = 29) and humans (n = 13) with fevers of unknown cause were identified as B. melitensis biovar 3 by both bacteriological and molecular methods. Concerning susceptibility to antibacterial therapeutics, three human isolates (3/13; 23%) and 23 animal isolates (23/29; 79.3%) showed resistance to rifampicin. All B. melitensis strains recovered from small ruminants and six (46%) strains of human origin conferred resistance to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, marking a first record in Egypt. All the isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin. ERIC-PCR fingerprinted the B. melitensis selected strains into 18 (M1-M18) ERIC types (ET), of which 2 ERIC types consist of 2 identical strains: one ET (M1_Human_Fayoum) for human isolates (2 isolates) and another ET (M8_Goat_Wadi Jadid) for goat isolates (2 isolates). In conclusion, most Egyptian B. melitensis isolates recovered in our study were susceptible to most antibiotics commonly prescribed for human brucellosis treatment. The in vitro resistance of Egyptian B. melitensis strains to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, ciprofloxacin, and rifampicin highlights the necessity of regular antibiotic susceptibility testing and breakpoint updating to minimize human brucellosis relapse cases. The emergence of resistant Brucella strains to various antibiotics recommended by the WHO (first and alternative therapies) will reduce the efficacy of treatment options, potentially leading to further complications. The high genetic diversity of B. melitensis bv3 based on ERIC-PCR fingerprinting patterns demonstrates the simplicity, reliability, and cost-effective genotyping approach for distinguishing between Brucella strains, particularly in developing countries. | ||
| Keywords | ||
| Brucella; ERIC-PCR; AST; genotypes; Egyptian borders | ||
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