Abstract
BACKGROUND: The emergence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli strains carrying diverse virulence genes poses significant public health risks. The transmission of disease through the food supply chain necessitates comprehensive studies on clinical and food-derived isolates. AIM: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of virulence factors, antibiotic resistance phenotypes, resistance gene profiles, and molecular typing of E. coli isolates from clinical specimens and chicken meat samples. METHODS: A total of 170 samples were collected, including 90 human clinical specimens (Al-Diwaniyah City hospitals) and 80 chicken meat samples (local stores). Escherichia coli isolation and identification were performed using culture-based techniques, biochemical assays, and Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification targeting the 16S rRNA gene. Antibiotic susceptibility was assessed against multiple classes of antibiotics. PCR was used to identify virulence and antibiotic resistance genes. RESULTS: Escherichia coli was isolated from 44.44% of the clinical specimens and 45% of the chicken meat samples. Erythromycin (85.52%) and tetracycline (76.31%) showed the highest antibiotic resistance, with clinical isolates generally more resistant than chicken meat-derived isolates. MAR (MAR index = 1) was observed in clinical isolates (pattern AH1) and several chicken meat isolates (pattern AO1). The virulence genes fimH (76.31%), aerA (69.73%), and P. fimbriae (65.78%) were highly prevalent, with clinical isolates exhibiting a higher virulence profile diversity than chicken meat isolates. CONCLUSION: The high prevalence of multidrug resistant and virulence factors among E. coli isolates underscores a potential public health risk and highlights the need for stringent surveillance and antibiotic stewardship in both clinical and food industry settings.