Detection of pathogenic strains by multiplex PCR and antimicrobial sensitivity of Escherichia coli isolated from piglets

The frequency of virulence determinants genes for fimbrial adhesions (K88, K99, 987P, F18 and F41) and toxins (LT, Stb, StaP and Stx2e) in E. coli strains isolated from diarrheic piglets using the multiplex polymerase chain reaction assay with specific primers for these genes was studied. The antimicrobial sensitivity pattern of pathogenic isolates for florfenicol, sodium ceftiofur, colistin, fosfomycin, neomycin, norfloxacin, sulfa + trimetoprim, doxycycline, tetracycline and lincomycin was also tested using the disk diffusion method. E. coli were isolated from 144 diarrheic piglets from farms in the state of Minas Gerais. Forty-two out of 144 studied samples (29.2%) were positive for at least one tested virulence factor. Out of these 42, 23 samples (54.8%) contained fimbria and toxin genes, seven (16.6%) samples had genes for toxins only and 12 (28.6%) samples just fimbria genes. Disk diffusion in vitro antimicrobial sensitivity test demonstrated the best results for florfenicol (89.5%) and sodium ceftiofur (84.2%) against virulent E. coli strains.