~ 37 ~ The Pharma Innovation Journal 2023; 12(11): 37-41 ISSN (E): 2277-7695 ISSN (P): 2349-8242 NAAS Rating: 5.23 TPI 2023; 12(11): 37-41 © 2023 TPI www.thepharmajournal.com Received: 06-09-2023 Accepted: 10-10-2023 Punit Jhandai Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India Deepak Soni Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India Dinesh Mittal Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India Renu Gupta Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India Corresponding Author: Punit Jhandai Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Hisar, Haryana, India Assessing the antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolated from raw and pasteurized bovine milk in Hisar, Haryana Punit Jhandai, Deepak Soni, Dinesh Mittal and Renu Gupta DOI: https://doi.org/10.22271/tpi.2023.v12.i11a.24331 Abstract The rise of multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) poses a significant and escalating concern for worldwide public health. This study aimed to examine the resistance to antibiotics in E. coli isolates derived from raw bovine milk and commercially pasteurized milk samples gathered from dairy farms situated in and around the Hisar district of Haryana. The susceptibility of the E. coli isolates to antimicrobials was assessed using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method to ascertain their resistance patterns. The E. coli isolates from raw milk were highly resistant to penicillin (95.65%), erythromycin (95.65%), gentamicin (56.52%), streptomycin (56.52%), amikacin (39.13%), and aztreonam (39.13%). Whereas E. coli isolated from pasteurized milk were highly resistant to ceftazidime (100%), erythromycin (100%), penicillin (84.62%) and cefotaxime (76.92%). Nearly, all the E. coli isolates isolated from both raw (95.65%) and pasteurized milk (92.31%) belonged to multi drug resistant bacteria. In order to reduce contamination from foodborne pathogens, there's a necessity for innovative, effective, and feasible food safety measures and monitoring techniques specifically targeting multi-drug resistant pathogens. Keywords: Antimicrobial susceptibility, Escherichia coli, raw, pasteurized bovine milk 1. Introduction Due to the exponential growth in population, the total biomass of humans now surpasses that of animals raised for food globally. In response to this need, developing countries are shifting toward economically efficient and vertically structured intensive systems for livestock production (Van Boeckel et al., 2015) [15] . In these systems, the use of antimicrobials is crucial for maintaining animal health and improving productivity, leading to an escalation in antimicrobial consumption and the emergence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The surge in antibiotic usage can be linked to several contributing factors, such as the utilization of clinical antibiotics in livestock feed, employing antibiotics to enhance animal growth, and the excessive use of antimicrobials in both human and animal domains (Walsh and Fanning, 2008) [16] . AMR presents a considerable worldwide risk to public and animal health, largely due to the improper selection and excessive utilization of antimicrobial substances in both human and animal (Ombarak et al., 2016) [9] . A significant concern in public health has been the emergence of foodborne bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs. Multidrug resistance (MDR) refers to the ability to resist at least one antimicrobial agent across three or more categories of antibiotics (Magiorakos et al., 2012) [6] . Multidrug-resistant (MDR) E. coli stands out as a major obstacle in ensuring food safety (Rashid et al., 2013) [13] . The development of resistance to the primary antimicrobial treatments has been steadily increasing, posing a challenge for managing E. coli infections. Over time, there has been a rise in beta-lactam antimicrobial resistance within Enterobacteriaceae primarily due to the dissemination of extended spectrum beta lactamases (ESBLs) (Rasheed et al., 2014) [12] . This study aimed to establish the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of E. coli strains isolated from raw and pasteurized samples gathered from dairy farms in and neighboring the Hisar district of Haryana.