Exploring multidrug resistant E. coli carrying extended-spectrum β-lactamase from retail chicken meat and live bird market sewage in Bangladesh

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial resistance due to the emergence and spread of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli are becoming a serious global public health concern. Contamination of retail chicken meat with ESBL-E. coli has been reported worldwide. Though ESBL-E. coli have been reported in cloacal swab of chickens in Bangladesh but no data on retail chicken meat and sewage samples are available. Therefore, we determined the prevalence, and resistance pattern of ESBL-E. coli in retail chicken meat and live bird market (LBM) sewage in Bangladesh. Methods and materials: The LBM survey was carried out on 64 LBMs of 32 upazilas of 16 districts in 8 divisions of Bangladesh during August 2018 to July 2019. A total of 320 retail chicken meat and 64 sewage water samples were subjected to cultural, biochemical and PCR assay for the detection of E. coli. The antimicrobial susceptibility test was done with 31 antimicrobial agents belong to 15 antimicrobial classes. ESBL-E. coli were screened by double-disc diffusion test and resistance genes were determined by mPCR. Results: The results showed that 71.3% and 79.7% of E. coli recovered from retail chicken meat and LBM sewage, respectively, of which 98.2% and 100% were ESBL producers. The prevalence of MDR E. coli was 98.2% in chicken meat and 92.2% in sewage sample. Notably, two isolates from chicken meat were identified as possible extensively drug-resistant (pXDR). All the isolates of both chicken meat and sewage samples were positive for blaTEM gene. Moreover, 0.9%, 0.4% and 0.4% of isolates from chicken meat were harboring blaCTX-M-1, blaCTX-M-2 and blaSHV, respectively, while 3.9% and 2% from sewage samples were carrying blaCTX-M-1 and blaCTX-M-2. In case of fluoroquinolones encoding gene, 8.8%, 3.1% and 71.1% isolates from chicken meat were harboring qnrA, qnrB and qnrS, respectively, while 21.6% and 62.7% isolates of sewage were carrying qnrA and qnrS. Conclusion: This study indicates that ESBL–E. coli, most of them MDR, are highly prevalent in retail chicken meat and LBM sewage in Bangladesh. Therefore, it is important to ensure the good hygienic practices during slaughtering and processing of chicken in the retail market and to monitor the resistance continuously.