Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) has been studied for decades because of its economic impact on the poultry industry. Recently, the zoonotic potential of APEC and multidrug-resistant strains have emerged. The aim of this study was to characterize 225 APEC isolated from turkeys presenting airsacculitis. The results showed that 92% of strains presented a multidrug-resistance (MDR), and the highest levels of resistance were to
sulfamethazine (94%) and
tetracycline (83%). Half of these strains were classified in phylogenetic group B2, followed by B1 (28.6%), A (17.1%), and D (4.8%). The prevalence of virulence genes was as follows:
salmochelin (
iroN, 95%), increased serum survival (iss, 93%),
colicin V (cvi/cva, 67%),
aerobactin (iucD, 67%), temperature-sensitive haemagglutinin (tsh, 56%),
iron-repressible
protein (irp2, 51%), invasion brain endothelium (ibeA, 31%), vacuolating
autotransporter toxin (vat, 24%), K1
antigen (neuS, 19%), enteroaggregative heat-stable
cytotoxin (astA, 17%), and pilus associated with
pyelonephritis (papC, 15%). These results demonstrate that the majority of the investigated strains belonged to group B2 and were MDR. These data suggest that turkeys may serve as a reservoir of pathogenic and multidrug-resistance strains, reinforcing the idea that poultry plays a role in the epidemiological chain of ExPEC.