The prevalence of E.coli isolated from primates in Alexandria Zoo

Abstract EN

The current study was conducted throughout 2018/2019 at the Alexandria Zoological garden, Egypt to investigate the presence of E.

coli in Zoo primates.

A total of 54 rectal swabs were collected from various species of Zoo Primates.

It was found that 44 samples were positive for E.

coli with percentage of 81%.

Identification of bacterial isolates was carried out and clarified the presence of serotypes; O158H4, O158H2, O158H5, O158H2, O18H2, O18H6, O114H2 and O78H6.

Also, the recovered isolates of E.

coli were screened for presence of.

It was found that all of 16 isolates of E.

coli were positive for genes phoA, Iss and eaeA while they were negative for iutA virulence gene.

Moreover, the antibacterial sensitivity test cleared that Enrofloxacine, Colistin, Ciprofloxacin, Cefotaxime, Gentamicin and Cefifur were antibiotics of choice to deal with E.

coli in zoo primates.

The results demonstrated that primates d may carry and spread these bacteria so preventive measures for human exposure should be followed as these microorganisms are of public health concerns.