Characterization of chicken eggs associated and for biofilm production and antimicrobial resistance traits.

The present study assessed the prevalence, virulence characteristics, antimicrobial resistance and biofilm-forming ability of and recovered from egg samples in Ludhiana, Punjab. A total of 393 samples from hatcheries ( 238), retail shops ( 94), and households ( 61) were collected. The prevalence of was observed as 11.70% and 9.16% for A total of 41.30% of isolates were positive for R gene and 52.17% were for A gene; while 36.11% of the isolates were positive for gene. A high proportion of (76.10%) and (69.44%) isolates were resistant toward ≥3 tested antibiotic classes. A total of 39.13% of isolates were moderate biofilm former, whereas the majority of the (41.67%) were weak biofilm former. No significant difference regarding biofilm formation was observed between MDR and non-MDR isolates of and . Biofilm genes C and were reported in 43.47% and 80.43% of isolates, respectively; while A and D genes were reported in 58.34% and 47.22% of isolates, respectively. A strong metabolic activity among 52.17% of and 41.66% of isolates was observed using XTT assay. The present study highlights the need for applied food safety measures across the egg production chain of the region to prevent the development of MDR strains and biofilms.