Background and Aim: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in commensal organism, such as Escherichia coli of food animals, is an alarming issue for global health. It increases the possibility of transmitting AMR determinant(s) to human bacterial pathogens by transferable genetic materials, particularly by plasmids. Hence, it is important to know which resistant genes are being carried by commensal organisms in food chain in a country and their level of temporal loads. As a result, pre-emptive measures can be advocated with an aim to reduce their risks in their primary source of circulation which consequently would benefit the public health. Materials and Methods: Commensal E. coli strains from broiler chickens on randomly selected 30 farms and the farm environments were examined for the frequencies of isolation of resistant strains to oxytetracycline and ciprofloxacin. Five birds were randomly selected from each farm to collect cloacal swab samples (total of 150 samples). Furthermore, a total of 150 environmental samples comprising one each from feed, water, soil, litter, and litter damping site of each farm were screened for the isolation of commensal E. coli strains. Strains thus obtained were initially tested for their resistance to oxytetracycline and ciprofloxacin by Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method. Oxytetracycline-resistant strains were further screened for the presence of resistance determining genes, namely, tetA, tetB, and tetC by uniplex polymerase chain reactions. Risks associated with the isolation frequency of oxytetracycline- and ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli were also assessed by univariable logistic regression analysis. Results: The results revealed that all E. coli isolates, regardless of the source of origin, were resistant to oxytetracycline, while 78.4% (95% confidence interval [CI] 69.1-85.5%) showed resistance to ciprofloxacin. All the randomly selected (20) oxytetracycline-resistant strains harbored the tetA gene, whereas tetB and tetC were reported in three and two isolates, respectively. After univariable analysis, only one variable, that is, strain 1 of broiler chickens compared to two other strains was found to be positively associated with the isolation of ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli (odds ratio 12.75 [95% CI 1.0- 157.1], p=0.047). Conclusion: Resistance emerged against oxytetracycline and ciprofloxacin in commensal E. coli strains circulating in live poultry and farm environments in Bangladesh seems to be very high. Thus, human infection with drug-resistant E. coli strains through food chain will critically compromise the therapeutic measures currently available.

Aims: To investigate plasmid-borne colistin resistance mechanism (plasmid-mediated colistin resistance [ mcr-1 ]) in Escherichia coli of human, veterinary, and environmental origin in Bangladesh. Materials and methods: A total of 810 samples were collected from different sources. Isolation and identification of E. coli was performed using classical bacteriology and then tested for antimicrobial susceptibility. Colistin-resistant isolates were further analyzed for mcr-1 gene using PCR. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using microbroth dilution technique. After sequencing of mcr-1 gene, phylogenetics was conducted to see the relationship with other mcr-1 gene sequences. Results: A total of 358 E. coli were isolated from 810 samples of humans, animals, environment, and food in Bangladesh. Of them 49 (15.9%) isolates were phenotypically resistant to colistin and 254 (70.9%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobials. mcr-1 gene was detected in three E. coli isolates of poultry source. For the three mcr-1 positive isolates the MIC of colistin sulfate was 4, 8, and 128 μg/mL. Gene sequencing of two of the three mcr-1 positive isolates and phylogenetic analysis showed close similarities of one isolate to other mcr-1 sequences available at GenBank while the other appeared to have evolved locally. Conclusion: First-ever report on circulation of mcr-1 E. coli of livestock origin in Bangladesh.

A comparative study on Canine Parvovirus (CPV) infection among the hospitalized dogs at Central Veterinary Hospital (CVH) in Bangladesh and Veterinary College and Research Institute-Madras Veterinary College (VCRI-MVC) in India was conducted during a period of January and July 2015. A total of 270 (80 at CVH and 190 at VCRI-MVC) hospitalized dogs of different breeds were clinically examined. The key clinical signs observed among the CPV infected dogs were bloody diarrhoea (90.4%), vomition (94.5%) and dehydration (severe 85.7%, moderate 10.0% and mild 7.6%). The overall prevalence of CPV infection was higher in VCRI-MVC (42.7%) than CVH (31.2%). The prevalence of CPV was varied significantly (P<0.05) among different age groups, vaccinated and non-vaccinated dogs. Highest prevalence was found 1-3 months (48.7%) old dogs, in compare with 4-6 months (17.2%) and over 6 months (8.3%) old dogs. Highest prevalence was also found in non-vaccinated than vaccinated dogs at CVH, Bangladesh. In VCRI-MVC, India rate of infection also varied significantly (P 6 months respectively) and 13.2% in vaccinated and 64.4% in non-vaccinated groups. Significant (P<0.05) variation in prevalence of CPV also observed in different breeds- indigenous (50.0%), Spitz (28.2%), Lhasa (18.1%), Doberman (40.0%) and German Shepherd (46.6%).

| Foot and mouth disease (FMD) is an epitheliotropic and transboundary viral disease affecting cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, and wild animals around the globe. This highly contagious disease causes severe economic loss due to reduced productivity of the affected animals as well as increased mortality in calves and kids. In this study proportionate prevalence of FMD in cattle was estimated and the distribution of FMD according to different factors was evaluated. Both retrospective and prospective FMD clinical cases were included considering clinical signs and drugs used for treatment during 13 January to 15 March 2015. A total of 131 cattle was investigated and 16.8% cattle cattle were recorded as FMD. The proportionate prevalence of FMD in different study areas were 4.5-18.2%. The occurrence of FMD was higher in February (23.3%) than in January (13.5%) and March (18.5%). Younger cattle were more commonly affected (59.1%) than older ones. Almost 96% of the female cattle were FMD positive. Cattle with poor body condition score had higher FMD cases (77.3%) than cattle with better body condition score. The lactating animals and pregnant animals were more commonly affected (81.8% and 63.6%), respectively. The main clinical signs were high fever (100%), sore foot (72.7%) and sored mouth (63.6%). The category of 16-20 days of illness of FMD was recorded for 36.5% cases. The treatment given was sulphonamaide or amoxicillin along with other supportive drugs. The recovery rate was 60-80%.

Irrawaddy squirrel (Callosciurus pygerythrus) may play an important role in the transmission of zoonotic bacteria, but little is known about the carriage of zoonotic bacteria in this common frugivorous rodent in Bangladesh. We aimed to investigate the presence of common zoonotic bacterial pathogens in Irrawaddy squirrel in the southeast part of Bangladesh. A total of 27 rectal and 27 oro‐nasal swabs were collected from 27 healthy wild Irrawaddy squirrels. Four common zoonotic bacteria were isolated following routine laboratory procedures, and were identified based on colony morphology, and biochemical and staining properties. The pathogenic potential of the identified bacteria was confirmed by detection of virulence genes by PCR. All isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test against seven antibiotics from six generic groups which are commonly used in human and veterinary medicine in Bangladesh. The prevalence of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Yersinia spp. and Staphylococcus spp. was 44.4% (95% CI, 32.0–57.6), 13% (95% CI, 6.1–24.7), 44.4% (95% CI, 32.0–57.6), and 72.2% (95% CI, 59.0–82.5), respectively. We identified potential zoonotic virulence genes in all of these four bacterial species. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed the presence of several multidrug resistant bacterial strains in squirrels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report in Bangladesh of the detection of antibiotic resistant zoonotic bacteria in Irrawaddy squirrels. The findings underpin the role of Irrawaddy squirrel as a source of pathogenic antibiotic resistant bacteria, consequently, fruit rejected because of squirrel consumption and squirrel‐bites deserve more concern than previously.

Background: Colistin is considered the last resort antibiotics in human medicine and recently new plasmid-mediated colistin resistance (MCR) mechanism has been emerged and reported in many countries. This study was designed to reveal the existing situation of its occurrence in Bangladesh.