Food- and water-borne diseases exacerbate cases of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Since 2011, cases of enteric infections have been reported in Bukavu city, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the rate of AMR and multidrug resistance (MDR) of Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli, and to determine the effect of S. enterica and E. coli cohabitation on antibiotic resistance of S. enterica. Bacteria were isolated from 553 foods, milk, and water samples collected from restaurants, taps, tanks and wells in Bukavu. Microbial analyses involved bacterial culture, and morphological and biochemical characterization. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed before and after bacteria cohabitation of S. enterica and E. coli isolates in the same media. 152 (27.5%) and 27 (4.9%) of the samples tested positive for S. enterica and E. coli, respectively. Salmonella isolates were more susceptible to ciprofloxacin (75.7%) and co-trimoxazole (75.0%) and more resistant to ampicillin (82.2%). E. coli was more resistant to ciprofloxacin (59.3%). Overall, 90.5% of isolates (n = 179) were MDR. The origin (food, water) of S. enterica and E. coli isolates had no significant (p > 0.05) influence on their susceptibility to antibiotics. However, S. enterica isolates from milk were significantly (p = 0.00) antibiotic-resistant than those from food and water. The cohabitation between antibiotic-susceptible S. enterica and antibiotic-resistant E. coli significantly (p < 0.00) increased the rate of antibiotic resistance of S. enterica from 30% to 89.5%, implying that interactions of antibiotic-resistant and antibiotic-susceptible bacteria in food and water could be among neglected factors promoting the spread of AMR, leading to increase AMR cases in Bukavu. Strong sanitation strategies and the operationalization of One Health approach could mitigate the spread of AMR in Bukavu city, DR Congo.
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