ICMR-NIN scientists conduct first gene profiles in poultry

For the first time, Indian scientists have reported antimicrobial resistance (AMR) gene profiles in poultry from Kerala and Telangana, and have cautioned that the emerging resistance can get aggravated by the depleting antibiotics repertoire.

Poultry is a major source for AMR because its industrial farming by modern practices widely use antibiotics. India and China are major producers of meat and have hotspots of AMR.

This has been stated in a recently published paper titled ‘The antimicrobial resistance profile in poultry of Central and Southern India is evolving with distinct features’, which was recently published in Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, by the Drug Safety Division, ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad.

Speaking about the study, Shobi Veleri, one of the authors of the paper, said that while central and southern India were predicted as emerging hotspots for AMR in poultry there was no data available to substantiate it.

“To this end, we collected chicken faeces from poultry farms in these regions and isolated genomic DNA. The samples exhibited a higher prevalence of gram-negative and anaerobic species. These deadly species have an extra layer of cell membrane protection against drugs that could kill them. AMR acquired by them poses an additional challenge for medical treatment of serious infectious diseases like pneumonia, cholera, food poisoning etc.,’’ Dr. Veleri said.

The high priority pathogens, like E.coli, Clostridium perfringens, Klebsiella pneumonia Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcous faecalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacteriodes fragiles, which pose challenge for antibiotic treatment in India were also detected in poultry and were carrying AMR genes. 

It is a red flag for urgent intervention to stop AMR spread in the ecosystem, the paper noted.

Respiratory Infections (Pneumonia, bronchitis), Urinary Tract Infections, Gastrointestinal Infections, Intra-Abdominal Infections, and several Clostridial Infections commonly seen in India are caused by gram-negative and anaerobic species. 

The infections of AMR pathogens increase the public health risk and likelihood for mortality arising from limited drug options and consequent health complications.

The study further found that southern India had the highest abundance of AMR genes than Central India. E.coli was significantly more prevalent in the southernmost zone of India than in other sites. Also the ICMR data had many common AMR profile features of the European Union (EU) poultry farms but lacked mcr-1, the gene renders resistance to colistin, the last resort antibiotic in essential drugs list of WHO. This is a recently emerged AMR gene in E.coli. Similarly, a newly emerged resistance gene, optrA, detected in EU was undetected in Indian poultry samples, whereas qnr highly present in EU is emerging in south Indian samples in low levels.

“Our data revealed the extent of AMR gene evolved in central and southern India and we can say that it is comparable to the EU data but severity is lesser than in the EU,’’ the report said. Thus, now India has a window of opportunity to control AMR spread in the food chain, scientists note while seeking urgent government intervention to ensure the safety of the public.