Chicken eggs represent a globally important source of animal protein for human consumption. Chicken eggs can serve as a source of bacterial contamination, including pathogenic bacteria resistant to antibiotics. Improper handling during purchase, storage, and cooking may allow pathogenic bacteria to infect consumers. The present study aimed to identify antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria in chicken eggshells. This preliminary and exploratory study was carried out in several stages. These stages included collecting ten chicken eggs from five different stores in Semarang, Indonesia, performing bacterial culture, testing susceptibility to novobiocin and amoxicillin via the Kirby-Bauer method, performing Gram staining, and examining colony and cell morphology. The next stage included DNA extraction, 16S rRNA gene amplification, sequencing, and confirmation using morphological observations. The current results indicated that seven out of ten egg samples contained bacteria in their shells. Molecular identification revealed that bacterial isolates labeled A, B, C, D, E, F1, F2, G1, and G2, isolated from chicken egg, were closely related to Staphylococcus durrellii, Staphylococcus schleiferi, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus shinii, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Staphylococcus cohnii, and Pseudomonas ficuserectae, respectively. Antibiotic resistance results demonstrated that samples A, B, C, F1, F2, and G2 were resistant to amoxicillin, while samples C and F2 were resistant to novobiocin. Chicken eggshells were found to include antibiotic-resistant pathogenic bacteria, mainly Staphylococcus and Streptococcus species, often resistant to amoxicillin. These current results indicated possible public health risks and highlight the importance of enhancing food safety measures.
Kartika et al. (Mon,) studied this question.