Antibiotic Resistance and Heavy Metals Tolerance in Gram-Negative Bacteria from Diseased American Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) Cultured in Malaysia

A total of 140 bacterial isolates have been successfully isolated from various organs of diseased American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) cultured in Malaysia. The most frequently isolated bacteria was Edwardsiella spp. (46 isolates) followed by Aeromonas spp. (33 isolates), Flavobacterium spp. (31 isolates), and Vibrio spp. (30 isolates). Majority of the bacterial isolates were found sensitive to furazolidone (85.0%), chloramphenicol (85.0%), oxolinic acid (90.0%), florfenicol (95.0%), and flumequine (97.5%). On the other hand, most of the bacterial isolates were resistant to oleandomycin (77.5%) and lincomycin (87.5%). Nitrofurantoin and flumequine can be inhibited the growth of all of Vibrio spp. whereas all isolates of Edwardsiella spp. were found sensitive to florfenicol and flumequine. Multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index were in range of 0.30-0.40, indicating that bacterial isolates from cultured bullfrogs may have received high risk exposure to the tested antibiotics. In addition, 90-100% of the isolates were resistant to copper, cadmium, and chromium. These results provided insight information on tolerance level of bacterial isolates from cultured bullfrogs to 21 antibiotics as well as heavy metals.