Occurrence of heavy metals and antibiotic resistance in bacteria from internal organs of american bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) raised in Malaysia

ABSTRACT

A total of 40 bacteria have been successfully isolated from internal organs of the American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) raised in Malaysia, namely, eight isolates of Aeromonas spp., 21 of Edwardsiella spp., six of Flavobacterium spp. and five of Vibrio spp. In terms of antibiotic susceptibility testing, each isolate was tested against 21 antibiotics, resulting in 482 (57.3%) cases of sensitivity and 61 (7.3%) cases of partial sensitivity. Meanwhile, 297 (35.4%) bacterial isolates were registered as resistant. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of each bacterial species indicated that bacteria from raised bullfrogs have been exposed to tested antibiotics with results ranging from 0.27 to 0.39. Additionally, high percentages of heavy metal resistance among these isolates were observed, with values ranging from 85.0 to 100.0%. The current results provided us information on bacterial levels of locally farmed bullfrogs exposed to copper, cadmium, chromium as well as 21 types of antibiotics.