Persistence of fluoroquinolones and ciprofloxacin resistant Enterobacteriacae in soil after poultry manure application

This study aimed to evaluate the persistence (i) of two fluoroquinolones, enrofloxacin (ENR) and ciprofloxacin (CIP), and (ii) of CIP-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in soil after poultry manure application. The amounts of ENR and CIP in soil did not significantly change over the 48 day- experimental period. CIP (≤ 30 μg kg-1) was detected in weaker concentrations than ENR (20 to 250 μg kg-1 of soil). The concentration of Enterobacteriaceae (102-103 CFU g-1) did not significantly decrease until Day 36. A total of 145 isolates were identified as belonging to E. coli and to 6 genera. The ciprofloxacin MIC of E. coli reached 32 mg L-1 whereas the other strains of Enterobacteriaceae had a MIC ≤ 0.25 mg L-1. The 71 strains of E. coli were classified in 12 ERIC-PCR genotypes. One genotype, corresponding to a resistant strain, was detected until Day 89. This study showed that enrofloxacin and CIP-resistant E. coli persisted at least 48 and 89 days, respectively, in soil. However, their presence did not increase the MIC of Enterobacteriaceae originating from soil.