Table 2_Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Campylobacter coli, Campylobacter jejuni, and Escherichia coli in the poultry distribution network.xlsx

Campylobacter spp. and E. coli were recovered from 10.26% and 51.33% birds, respectively, whereas NTS spp. was not detected in any environmental sample. Prevalence pattern varied by city, season and breed. The highest C. coli prevalence was in broiler shop samples from Surat (17.5%) and desi chickens form Bhuj (16.7%), while C. jejuni peaked in broiler shop samples from Bhuj (13.3%).

C. jejuni was not detected in desi chickens. All isolates were further analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance using the disc diffusion method. A higher resistance was observed in Campylobacter isolates (55.74%) particularly against fluoroquinolones, macrolides and beta-lactams.

Among the isolated organisms, 39.34% of Campylobacter and 61.03% of E. coli isolates exhibited extensively drug-resistant (XDR) phenotypes, while 4.92% of Campylobacter and 9.09% of E. coli demonstrated pan drug-resistant (PDR) phenotypes. Among Escherichia coli isolates, 29.87% exhibited resistance to glycopeptides, nitrofurantoin, macrolides, tetracycline, beta-lactams, and fluoroquinolones. These findings underscore the critical need for implementing farm hygiene practices to mitigate the risk of food borne pathogens and antimicrobial resistance within poultry distribution networks.</p>