Isolation, biotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility of isolates from raw milk in Erbil city, Iraq.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial sensitivity of species in raw milk sold at retail vending in Erbil city. Three hundred and fifty (350) samples were aseptically collected from retail raw milk shops between January and June 2019. For isolation of spp., samples were cultured on selective media and tested for biotype and antimicrobials susceptibility by disk diffusion assay. The overall prevalence of spp. was 12.6%. was significantly prevalent (65.9%) among other species. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing showed complete sensitivity to tetracycline, rifampicin, and neomycin. On the other hand, total resistance to ampicillin and trimethoprim was observed. Strikingly, as low as 56.8% and 72.7% of isolates are still sensitive to the drugs of choice in campylobacteriosis treatment; ciprofloxacin and erythromycin respectively. This resistance pattern of found in this study is critically alarming owing to the insusceptibility to the aforementioned antibiotics commonly used as the drugs of choice for campylobacteriosis treatment. Increase in prevalence in raw milk was associated with warm season. These levels prevalence and resistance worth further investigations and effective countermeasures owing to potential public health hazards.