[Antibiotic resistance and transfer in Enterobacteriaceae of avian origin]

Thirty-six specimens of feces were taken from as many chicken farms, from which 118 different strains of Enterobacteriaceae were isolated. The resistances of the single isolated bacteria were studied, performing plate sensitivity tests by the Kirby-Bauer method. The capacity of the bacteria under examination to transfer their antibiotic resistances in vitro to a sensitive E. coli strain (E. coli K 12 E 711 F--) was observed. A very high percentage of strains has shown resistance to one or more antibiotics (91%). However a much lesser number of strains were capable of transferring their antibiotic resistances (12.9%). It is suggestive, then, that the animals under examination do not represent an important source of antibiotic resistance diffusion to man.