Occurrence and antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus faecalis strains isolated from fish and shrimp caught from the Persian Gulf

The present study was performed to evaluate the occurrence and pattern of antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus faecalis strains isolated from fish and shrimp samples caught from the Persian Gulf. A total of 240 seafood samples caught from the Persian Gulf, including 120 fish and 120 shrimp samples were collected from Bushehr province. The presence of Enterococcus faecalis was confirmed using microbial culture and biochemical tests. The pattern of antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus faecalis isolates was evaluated using Disc Diffusion Method. Fifty-four out of 240 (22.50%) samples were contaminated with Enterococcus faecalis. The contamination of Enterococcus faecalis in fish and shrimp samples were 30% and 15%, respectively. Enterococcus faecalis strains isolated from fish and shrimp samples had the highest resistance to gentamicin (100%), tetracycline (100%), erythromycin (100%), cefazolin (90.74%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (88.88%) antibiotics. Resistance to chloramphenicol was not observed in any of the isolates. The results of the study showed that fish and shrimp can be considered as possible sources of antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis. Therefore, complete cooking of seafood before consumption, observance of hygiene in fishing and sale centers and prescribing antibiotics according to the results of the disk diffusion test can prevent gastrointestinal infections caused by antibiotic-resistant strains of Enterococcus faecalis.