Hatha, A A M; Abhirosh, Chandran; Sherin, Varghese; Sheeja, K M(Journal of marine and atmospheric research, July , 2007)
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Abstract:
A total of eighty-one Escherichia coli isolates belonging to forty-three different serotypes including several
pathogenic strains such as enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enteropathogenic E. coli
(EPEC) and uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolated from Cochin estuary between November 2001 and October 2002 were
tested against twelve antibiotics to determine the prevalence of multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) and antimicrobial
resistance profiles as a measure of high risk source of contamination. The results revealed that more than 95% of the
isolates were multiple antibiotic resistant (resistant to more than three antibiotics). The MAR indexing of the isolates
showed that all these strains originated from high risk source of contamination. The incidence of multiple antibiotic
resistant E. coli especially the pathogenic strains in natural waters will pose a serious threat to human population