The study determined the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant commensal Escherichia coli isolated from fecal samples of pigs slaughtered in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya. A total of 68 fecal samples were collected in this study. Out of 68 pig fecal samples tested, 44 (64.70%) harbored & colt The E. Coli isolates were tested against eight different antimicrobials belonging to seven antimicrobial classes using disk diffusion assay Forty-two (95.4%) of the 44 E colt isolates exhibited resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent. A high over-all percentage resistance at 95.45% and a high percentage of multidrug resistance at 88.1% was observed Highest percentage of resistance was observed in tetracycline (86.36%), amoxicillin (81.82%) and trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole (77.27%), followed by cefotaxime (47.73%) and chloramphenicol (43.18%) Low percentage resistance was observed in ceftriaxone (3409%) and gentamicin (25%) Resistance was not observed in ciprofloxacin The most common resistance pattern is the chloramphenicol-amoxicillin-trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole-tetracycline. Isolates from the province of Nueva Vizcaya has the highest percentage resistance of 69.05% and also the highest percentage of multidrug resistance at 70.27% In conclusion, this study revealed a high percentage antimicrobial resistance in E. coli from the pigs. Thus, pigs can be considered as important sources of antimicrobial resistant E. coli that can potentially be transmitted to humans.

Thesis (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine)

includes appendices and bibliographical references.