Contamination rate and antibiotic resistance profile of Enterococcus spp. isolated from pork and chicken in Gia Lam district, Hanoi City

Enterococcus spp. has been known to be an opportunistic pathogen and a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes. Food, especially pork and chicken meat, are considered vectors for transmitting Enterococcus spp. from animals to humans. In this study, 60 meat samples (30 pork samples and 30 chicken samples) were randomly collected from local markets in Gia Lam district, Hanoi city to isolate Enterococcus spp. The results show that the contamination rate of Enterococcus spp. in meat samples was 41.67% (25/60), specifically, 46.67% (14/30) for pork and 36.67% (11/30) for chicken meat. Among 25 Enterococcus spp. isolates, E. faecalis and E. faecium account for 48% and 28%, respectively. Overall, Enterococcus spp. strains isolated from pork had a higher resistance rate than those isolated from chicken meat. The isolates exhibited the highest resistance rate to tetracycline (68.42%), followed by erythromycin (52.63%) and streptomycin (47.37%). On the contrary, all of the isolates were susceptible to teicoplanin, vancomycin, tigecycline, and linezolid.