ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1589747
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles of Commensal Clostridium perfringens Isolates from Chickens in Hungarian Poultry Farms between 2022 and 2023
Provisionally accepted
- 1National Laboratory of Infectious Animal Diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance, Veterinary Public 7 Health and Food Chain Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
- 2Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary
- 3Department of Animal Hygiene, Herd Health and Mobile Clinic, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
- 4Poultry-Care Kft, Újszász, Hungary
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One of the most pressing challenges of our time is the global spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Regular surveillance studies are critical for advancing collaborative efforts between animal and public health sectors, aligning with the One Health concept. In this study, we aimed to assess the antibiotic susceptibility of commensal Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) strains (n=146) isolated from large-scale poultry farms in Hungary, using minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) determinations. Additionally, PCR was employed to investigate the presence of major and minor virulence factors. Our findings revealed a decrease in the efficacy of penicillin-based antibiotics, which are primary choices for treating C. perfringens-related infections, with resistance observed in 48.3% of isolates for penicillin and 20.7% for amoxicillin. Furthermore, virulence gene analysis identified 47 strains (32.2%) carrying the major beta toxin gene, one strain with the epsilon toxin gene (0.7%), 27 strains (18.5%) with the minor beta2 toxin gene, and four strains (2.7%) with the netB toxin gene. These results underscore the necessity of regular surveillance studies and highlight the significant role of commensal strains as reservoirs for sustaining resistance. Future research should include larger sample sizes to provide a more comprehensive understanding of resistance dynamics. Additionally, the genetic basis of resistance in multidrug-resistant strains should be elucidated using next-generation sequencing, enabling targeted interventions to address this growing concern.
Keywords: Clostridium perfringens, antimicrobial resistance, minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), PCR, Chickens, Hungary
Received: 07 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kerek, Szabo, Barnacz, Csirmaz, Kovacs and Jerzsele. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Adam Kerek, National Laboratory of Infectious Animal Diseases, Antimicrobial Resistance, Veterinary Public 7 Health and Food Chain Safety, University of Veterinary Medicine Budapest, Budapest, Hungary
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