Assessment of prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and virulence profiles of biofilm-forming Enterococcus faecalis isolated from raw seafood in Bangladesh

This study aimed to identify antibiotic resistance patterns and virulence factors in biofilm-forming Enterococcus faecalis strains from 150 samples of raw seafood in Bangladesh. The occurrence of E. faecalis was 29.3%, higher in crabs and fish than shrimps. Biofilm-forming abilities were observed in 88.64% of the isolates, with at least two virulence genes. All isolates were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, rifampicin, erythromycin, and tetracycline, vancomycin, norfloxacin, and linezolid. The study revealed that seafood is a carrier of antibiotic-resistant, virulent, and biofilm-forming E. faecalis, a potential public health threat.