Frequency of antimicrobial resistance and plasmid profiles of Bacillus cereus strains isolated from milk.

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Date
1996Author
Mathenge, J. M.
Ombui, J. N.
Kimotho, A. M.
Macharia, J. K.
Nduhiu, G.
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Plasmid profile analysis and susceptibility to eight commonly used antimicrobial agents was done on sixty Bacillus cereus (B. cereus) strains isolated from milk. About seventy two percent (71.7%) of the isolates contained plasmids. The number of plasmids per isolate ranged between 1 and 5, while plasmid sizes ranged between 60 and 0.1 megadaltons (Mda). All isolates were resistant to ampicillin with a relatively high rate of resistance to cotrimoxazole and sulphamethoxazole. The isolates showed a low frequency of resistance to the other antimicrobial agents, with all of them being susceptible to streptomycin. Approximately ninety one (90.7%) percent of the isolates showed multiple resistance. There was no apparent relationship between carriage of plasmids and drug resistance.