Sheep and goat milk in Jordan is a reservoir of multidrug resistant extended spectrum and AmpC beta-lactamases Escherichia coli.

Limited data is available on the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of extended spectrum (ESBL) and AmpC β-lactamases Escherichia coli in sheep and goats in Jordan. This study determined the molecular prevalence and antimicrobial-resistance of ESBL and AmpC β-lactamases E. coli in 155 sheep and goat flocks across Jordan by testing 948 milk samples. The samples were enriched in MacConkey broth, and then plated on MacConkey agar with cefotaxime. The presence of ESBL and AmpC genes in the E. coli isolates was determined by PCR and the resistance toward critically important antimicrobials was tested by disc diffusion. In total, 1016 E. coli isolates were isolated from the cefotaxime supplemented MacConkey, 382 isolates harbored ESBL genes and 54 harbored blaCMY. The prevalence of blaCTX-M, blaTEM, blaCMY and blaSHVE. coli in the milk samples were 33.5 %, 31.7 %, 5.7 %. and 1.1 %, respectively. At the flock level, 30.3 % flocks had β-lactamase E. coli, specifically 25.2 %, 20.7 %, 5.2 % and 2.6 % had blaCTX-M, blaTEM, blaCMY and blaSHV E. coli, respectively. About 52.2 % of the isolates harbored both blaCTX-M and blaTEM. A high percentage (>59 %) of ESBL and AmpC β-lactamases E. coli resisted sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim, tetracycline and nalidixic acid. Overall, 93.5 % and 96.3 % of ESBL and AmpC E. coli were resistant to ≥1 another antimicrobial class and 44.5 % and 44.4 % were resistant to ≥3 another antimicrobial class, respectively. This study shows that sheep and goat milk is a reservoir of multidrug resistant ESBL and AmpC β-lactamases E. coli, thus good hygienic practices and judicious antimicrobials use are important in small ruminants' farming.