Antimicrobial Resistance of <i>Escherichia coli</i> Isolates from Livestock and the Environment in Extensive Smallholder Livestock Production Systems in Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to characterize the distribution of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of <i>Escherichia coli</i> (<i>E. coli</i>) isolated from livestock feces and soil in smallholder livestock systems. A cross-sectional study was carried out sampling 77 randomly selected households in four districts representing two agroecologies and production systems. <i>E. coli</i> was isolated and the susceptibility to 15 antimicrobials was assessed. Of 462 <i>E. coli</i> isolates tested, resistance to at least one antimicrobial was detected in 52% (43.7–60.8) of isolates from cattle fecal samples, 34% (95% CI, 26.2–41.8) from sheep samples, 58% (95% CI, 47.9–68.2) from goat samples and 53% (95% CI, 43.2–62.4) from soil samples. AMR patterns for <i>E. coli</i> from livestock and soil showed some similarities, with the highest prevalence of resistance detected against streptomycin (33%), followed by amoxycillin/clavulanate (23%) and tetracycline (8%). The odds of detecting <i>E. coli</i> resistance to ≥2 antimicrobials in livestock fecal samples were nearly three times (Odd Ratio—OR: 2.9; 95% CI, 1.72–5.17; <i>p</i> = 0.000) higher in lowland pastoral than in highland mixed crop–livestock production systems. These findings provide insights into the status of resistance in livestock and soil, and associated risk factors in low-resource settings in Ethiopia.