One Health surveillance of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli in broilers and market environments in Aceh, Indonesia: A triangulated sampling approach

Vet World Vol.18 October-2025 Article - 17

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(10): 3149-3161

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.3149-3161

Teuku Reza Ferasyi^1,2

, Mahdi Abrar^3,4

, Ismail Ismail^1,2

, Wahyu Eka Sari^1,2

, Azhari Azhari^1,2

, Mustafa Sabri^3,5

, Faisal Jamin^3,4

, Erwin Erwin^3,6

, Siti Rani Ayuti^3,7

, and Mirni Lamid⁸

1. Laboratory of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

2. Center for Tropical Veterinary Studies-One Health Collaboration Center, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

3. Center for Tropical Veterinary Studies-One Health Collaboration Center, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

4. Laboratory of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

5. Laboratory of Anatomy, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

6. Laboratory of Clinics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universitas Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

7. Doctoral Program of Veterinary Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia.

8. Division of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Airlangga University, Surabaya, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli in poultry poses a critical threat to food safety and public health. While studies have assessed resistance at the farm level, limited attention has been given to informal market environments that connect animals, humans, and surfaces. This study applied a One Health triangulation sampling approach to investigate the occurrence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of E. coli isolated from broiler chickens and associated environments in traditional markets in Aceh Besar District and Banda Aceh City, Indonesia.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in three traditional markets (Lambaro, Al-Mahirah, and Seutui). A total of 174 samples were collected, comprising fecal swabs (n = 54), chicken meat swabs (n = 54), poultry sellers’ hand swabs (n = 48), and chicken display table swabs (n = 18). Isolation of E. coli was performed using culture and biochemical confirmation. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using the Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method against 11 antibiotics commonly used in veterinary and human medicine.

Results: Overall, E. coli was isolated from 31.03% (54/174) of samples. Contamination was highest in fecal samples (13.79%), followed by chicken meat (8.62%), sellers’ hands (4.60%), and display tables (4.02%). Market-level prevalence was highest at Al-Mahirah (13.2%), followed by Lambaro (11.49%) and Seutui (6.32%). All isolates exhibited MDR phenotypes. Distinct variation in resistance profiles was observed between sample types in a range of 12.5%-100%. Percentage of resistance of isolates from all sample types were uniformly high to ampicillin (100%). Isolates from fecal and display table were 100% resistant to erythromycin and kanamycin, as well as to streptomycin. The variation of resistance profiles from each sample types were also observed between markets.

Conclusion: Traditional poultry markets represent critical hotspots for AMR dissemination at the human–animal–environment interface. Findings highlight the combined influence of unregulated antibiotic use in poultry production and inadequate hygiene practices on sustaining MDR E. coli. The triangulated One Health design demonstrates the added value of integrating animal, human, and environmental sampling for AMR surveillance. Strengthening antimicrobial stewardship, upgrading market hygiene infrastructure, and expanding integrated surveillance into national AMR monitoring frameworks are essential steps to mitigate public health risks.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, broiler chicken, Escherichia coli, Indonesia, One Health, traditional markets.

How to cite this article: Ferasyi TR, Abrar M, Ismail I, Sari WE, Azhari A, Sabri M, Jamin F, Erwin E, Ayuti SR, and Lamid M (2025). One Health surveillance of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli in broilers and market environments in Aceh, Indonesia: A triangulated sampling approach, Veterinary World, 18(10): 3149-3161.

Received: 30-06-2025 Accepted: 03-10-2025 Published online: 26-10-2025

Corresponding author: Teuku Reza Ferasyi E-mail: teuku_rezaferasyi@usk.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.3149-3161

Copyright: Ferasyi, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.