Scholarly Journal of Biological Science Vol. 5(2), pp. 56-60, December 2016 Available online http:// www.scholarly-journals.com/SJBS ISSN 2315-6147 © 2016 Scholarly-Journals Full Length Research Paper Occurrence and Antimicrobial resistance of ESBL- producing Escherichia coli in Indigenous Chickens and retailed Table-Eggs in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria Abubakar, M.B.* 1 , Salihu, M.D, 2 , Aliyu, R.M. 1 , Bello, A. 3 , Tukur, H. 1 and Shuaibu, A.B. 1 1 Department of Veterinary Microbiology. Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto – Nigeria 2 Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine. Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto – Nigeria 3 Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto – Nigeria Accepted 16 December, 2016 Extended-Spectrum beta-Lactamases (ESBL) producing Escherichia coli has become a serious global problem, with their occurrence varying based on the use of antibiotics and environmental settings. This study was aimed at determining the frequency of occurrence of ESBL-producing E. coli and their antibiotic resistance profile from indigenous chickens and table-eggs on retail in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria. Between March and September 2015 (6 months), cloacal swab samples obtained from 246 indigenous chickens and 85 table-eggs samples were analyzed for ESBL-producing E. coli, using double-disk synergy test on Mueller Hinton agar. The identified ESBL strains were further subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test to nine antimicrobial agents, using Kirby-Bauer disc-diffusion method. The overall prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli in indigenous chickens and table-eggs samples were 8.9% and 5.7%respectively. Statistically significant difference was noted in the rates of ESBL-producing E. coli detection between indigenous chicken and retailed table-eggs (P <0.05). Over 25% of the ESBL- producing E. coli isolates are resistant to beta-lactam and other antimicrobial agents, with over 50% multi-drug resistant strains. ESBL-producing E. coli strains showed higher resistance to Tetracycline, Sulphamethoxazole and Ampicillin. These results indicate that indigenous chickens are potential reservoir for multi-drug resistant ESBL-producing E. coli, which is of public and animal health concern. Key words: ESBL-producing E. coli, Antimicrobial-resistance, Indigenous-Chickens, Table Eggs. INTRODUCTION Antibiotics such as third generation cephalosporins. Extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing (ESBL) strains of bacteria are emerging worldwide, particularly amongst the Enterobacteriaceae where the exchange of multidrug-resistant (MDR) plasmids between members of the family is common (Owen et al., 2015). ESBLs comprise rapidly evolving groups of β-lactamases, capable of inactivating the third-generation cephalosporins, penicillins and monobactams (Aarestrup 2006), which are inhibited by clavulanic acid (the β- lactamase inhibitor).They are frequently resistant to many antimicrobial agents usually recommended for the *Corresponding author e-mail: mikaeel.bala@udusok.edu.ng. treatment of infections such as gentamicin, fluoroquinolones, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Rodrigues et al.,2005). An increased trend of ESBLs resistance to commonly used antibiotics, namely, ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, gentamicin, erythromycin, tetracycline, and third-generation cephalosporins, has been observed (Smet et al., 2010). ESBL-producing Escherichia coli strains have emerged as a potential health hazard, as they have not only been identified from human clinical samples, but also from food producing animals. Food-producing animals carrying extended- spectrum β-lactamase–producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) have posed a potential threat to human and animal health. Asymptomatic carriage of these pathogens in food animals and/or their products may represent a reservoirs and a potential threat for spread to the community.