Prevalence of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from milk and meat samples in and around Tirupati

The present study was undertaken to isolate the Klebsiella pneumoniae from foods of animal origin (raw milk, chicken, and mutton) collected from milk vendors, different retail outlets, and municipal abattoir of Tirupati. Out of 103 milk, 117 chicken, and 107 mutton samples collected from different sources, ten (9.7%) isolates from milk, one (0.8%) isolate from chicken, and eight (7.5%) isolates from mutton were positive for Klebsiella pneumoniae by cultural isolation and biochemical characterization. The study found that all the 19 isolates were showed positive result for the rpoB gene by PCR, which encodes for RNA polymerase B. Biofilm producing ability of K. pneumoniae was detected by the Congo red agar method. In this study, out of ten milk isolates, three (30%) isolates were biofilm producers, out of eight mutton isolates, five (62.5%) isolates and one (100%) chicken isolate were found as biofilm producers. In this study, the K. pneumoniae isolates were tested for the presence of virulent genes such as rmpA, entB, and fimH genes, which encodes for regulation of mucoid phenotype A, enterobactin, adhesive subunit of type 1 fimbriae, respectively by uniplex PCR. Out of 10 K. pneumoniae isolates from milk samples, three (30%), nine (90%), and seven (70%) isolates carried rmpA, entB, and fimH genes, respectively. Out of eight K. pneumoniae isolates from mutton samples, three (37.5%), eight (100%), and eight (100%) isolates carried rmpA, entB, and fimH genes, respectively. Only one K. pneumoniae isolate detected from chicken samples found to have all three selected virulence genes (rmpA, entB and fimH).