Antibiotic susceptibility profile of Aeromonas spp. isolates from food in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

A total of 57 Aeromonas isolates from food samples such as fresh and frozen chicken, game birds, pasteurized milk, baby food, bakery products, fruit and vegetables, fish, and water from Abu Dahbi, UAE were investigated for antibiotic susceptibility profile. Most strains were resistant to penicillins (ticarcillin, mezlocillin, oxacillin, piperacillin), sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim and macrolides (erythromycin, vancomycin, clindamycin) but sensitive to tetracycline, chloramphenicol, nitrofurantoin, aminoglycosides (amikacin, gentamicin, tobramycin), cephalosporins (cefuroxime, ceftrioxone, cefazolin, cephalexin, cephalothin, cefoxitin, cefotaxime), quinolone (ciprofloxacin), colistin sulphate and SXT (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole). On the other hand, many antibiotics showed excellent inhibitory activity (>75% strains were sensitive to them) against all the strains tested. These include cefuroxime, ceftrioxone, ciprofloxacin, colistin, amikacin, gentamicin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, nitrofurantoin, cefotaxime and tobramycin. In conclusion, the results show a detailed pattern of sensitivity of the various Aeromonas spp. isolates to a variety of antibiotics and provide useful information in the context of selective isolation and phenotypic identification of the aeromonads from food.