Trends of Antibiotic Resistance in Poultry Sector: A Systematic Review

Abstract Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is a global concern, exacerbated by widespread antibiotics use in livestock, particularly in poultry systems where detection rates are high. This review systematically evaluates the literature, 71 studies (2014–2024) from NCBI, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect, to assess the dynamics of ABR in agricultural soils using poultry manure. The analysis emphasizes the genetic landscape of ABR, soil's emerging contaminants like antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Tetracycline resistance was the most frequently reported, ranging from < 10% in chicken manure (China & Canada) to 98.28% in chicken fecal samples (Panama). β-lactams in manure spanned < 5% in Canada to > 93.65% in Uganda, followed by aminoglycoside resistance 10%-92.8% (chicken feces, China). Fluoroquinolone-carbenicillin-amoxicillin (FCA) varied from 2.5% (feces, China) to 90% (feces, Guangdong Province, China), Macrolides-lincosamide-streptogramin B (MLSB) and sulphonamide ranged from 5.7%-72.4% and 1.3%-66.7% respectively, with lower rates in chicken manure from China and higher rates in Israel. Over half of the 37 studies on multidrug resistance (MDR), originated from China, with Shandong Province revealing a high rate of 91.07%. The presence of microorganisms like E. coli , S. enterica , K. pneumoniae , Pseudomonas spp ., and Staphylococcus spp. highlights the threat of ESKAPEE ( Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter species, Escherichia coli ) pathogens. These MDR bacteria pose risks in clinical and agricultural settings, challenging healthcare and public health. Understanding ARG prevalence in the poultry sector is vital for developing strategies, including manure treatment technologies, probiotic and natural antimicrobial alternatives, and surveillance tools, alongside the global action plans to curb environmental spread.