Extended-spectrum β-lactamase- and AmpC-producing enterobacteria in healthy broiler chickens, Germany

During 2010, we evaluated the presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase- and AmpC-producing enterobacteria in broiler chickens at slaughter. Samples (70 carcasses and 51 ceca) from 4 flocks were analyzed by direct plating and after enrichment. Extended-spectrum β-lactamase producers were found in 88.6% and 72.5% of carcasses and ceca, respectively; AmpC producers were found in 52.9% and 56.9% of carcasses and ceca, respectively. Most isolates were identified as Escherichia coli; Enterobacter cloacae (cecum) and Proteus mirabilis (carcass) were found in 2 samples each. Molecular characterization revealed the domination of CTX-M genes; plasmidic AmpC was CIT-like. Phylogenetic grouping of E. coli showed types A (31.5%), B1 (20.2%), B2 (13.5%), and D (34.8%). These findings provide evidence that healthy broilers in Germany are a source for the dissemination of transmissible resistance mechanisms in enterobacteria brought from the rearing environment into the food chain during slaughtering.