Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance and biofilm forming ability of Escherichia coli in milk, animal handlers and herd slurry samples from dairy herds of Punjab, India

The study reveals that antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) is prevalent in dairy herds in Punjab, India. The prevalence was 34.3% in milk samples, 9.1% in animal handlers’ hand swabs, and 64.4% in slurry samples. Multidrug resistance was observed in 24.4% of E. coli isolates from milk, 40.5% from hand swabs, and 60.5% from slurry samples. The study also found that milk hygiene scores significantly protected against E. coli occurrence, while milk hygiene scores negatively impacted the Multiple Antibiotic Resistance index. The study highlights the need for One Health-integrated strategies to address AMR challenges at the dairy-environment interface.