The present study aimed at identifying and assessing antimicrobial resistance of Enterococcus spp. isolated from small and medium enterprise slaughterhouses in Kenya. In total, 67 isolates were recovered from 48 of 195 samples examined from beef carcasses, personnel, and cutting equipment in five small and medium enterprise slaughterhouses. The isolates were identified by using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry and screened thereafter for their resistance against 12 antibiotics by using a disk diffusion assay. The isolates ( n = 67) included Enterococcus faecalis (41.8%), Enterococcus mundtii (17.9%), Enterococcus thailandicus (13.4%), Enterococcus faecium (9.0%), Enterococcus hirae (7.5%), Enterococcus casseliflavus (6.0%), and Enterococcus devriesei (4.5%). None of the isolates were resistant to ciprofloxacin, penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, nitrofurantoin, teicoplanin, linezolid, and levofloxacin. Resistance to rifampin (46.3%), erythromycin (23.9%), tetracycline (20.9%), and chloramphenicol (7.5%) was distributed among six of the seven species. All E. thailandicus were resistant to rifampin, erythromycin, and tetracycline. E. faecalis was resistant to rifampin (60.7%), tetracycline (17.9%), erythromycin (14.3%), and chloramphenicol (10.7%). Resistance to two or three antibiotics was observed in 26.9% of the enterococci isolates. The isolation of enterococci that are resistant to clinically relevant antibiotics, such as erythromycin, is of a serious concern given the role enterococci play in the transfer of antibiotic resistance genes.
Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Enterococci; Enterococcus thailandicus; Slaughterhouse; Small and medium enterprises.