Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli infections: The spread of antibiotic resistance through the food products

Abstract

With the increasing demand for poultry meat and poultry products and the growing poultry industry around the world, food safety is an important challenge for public health. To assess the dissemination of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains, one should examine the level of genetic similarity between isolates from different hosts. In the proposed review paper, multiple levels of genotyping are proposed, in which typing of strains, plasmids, and genes are compared in order to obtain the more complete picture of this complex issue. The ExPEC group includes uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), neonatal meningitis E. coli (NMEC), and sepsis-associated E. coli (SEPEC). ExPEC presents an elaborated phylogenetic structure, a wide range of virulence factors (VF), and considerable plasticity of the genome. These strains cause not only uncomplicated UTIs, but also other dangerous illnesses such as bacteremia or sepsis. Mechanisms underlying ExPEC transmission dynamics and the selection of resistant to drugs clones are still poorly understood and require further investigations. Overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics and chemotherapeutics has led to a global threat, which is the emergence and spread of microbial resistance. Food, depending on certain products and processing technology, provides an excellent substrate for the growth of microorganisms. Intensive trade and wide use of antibiotics in contemporary food production favor the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria. Currently, antibiotic use in vegetable and animal food production is significantly higher compared to the number of antibiotics used in medicine to treat infections, which is a huge threat. We need new strategies to prevent, quickly diagnose, and treat ExPEC infections, especially in the context of the recently observed clonal expansion of strains with increased antibiotic resistance.