Abstract
Meats are important potential sources of foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from meats in the Tamale metropolis of Ghana. Isolation of Escherichia coli was done using the procedure according to the USA-FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual. Antibiotic resistance patterns in the Escherichia coli isolates were determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method against 8 antibiotics. The overall prevalence of Escherichia coli in the meat samples was 84.00% (189/225). Mutton (88.89%), guinea fowl (88.89%), beef (86.67%), local chicken (80.00%), and chevon (75.56%) were contaminated by Escherichia coli. The average coliform count was 4.22 cfu/cm2 and was highest in guinea fowl (4.94 log cfu/cm2) and lowest in local chicken (3.23 log cfu/cm2). The Escherichia coli isolates were highly resistant to erythromycin (85.00%), tetracycline (73.33%), and ampicillin (71.67%). The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index ranged from 0.13 to 1. The Escherichia coli isolates exhibited 23 antimicrobial resistance patterns with resistant pattern TeAmpE (tetracycline-ampicillin-erythromycin) being the most common. Multidrug resistance was 68.33% (41/60) among the Escherichia coli isolates. The results showed that Escherichia coli was commonly present in the various meat types and exhibited multidrug resistances, necessitating efficient antibiotic stewardship guidelines to streamline their use in the production industry.
Highlights
Meat is consumed by many people as an important source of protein and other nutrients [1]
E. coli were found in guinea fowl 40 (88.89%), mutton 40 (88.89%), beef 39 (86.67%), local chicken 36 (80.00%), and chevon 34 (75.56%)
The coliform counts were 0:30 ± 0:78 and 1:03 ± 1:28 for beef and chicken, respectively [26]; this study found higher coliform counts in the meat samples examined
Summary
Meat is consumed by many people as an important source of protein and other nutrients [1]. Pork is the most consumed meat (average consumption of 16 kg per year in 2013), followed by poultry (15 kg), beef/buffalo (9 kg), and mutton and chevon (2 kg) [2]. Meat consumption is known to be highest across high-income countries and lowest in low-income countries [2, 3]. Speedy [3] reported that the United States of America is the leading consumer of meat in the world with 124 kg/capita/year. Africa and South Asia are the least consumers of meat with a consumption of between 3 and 5 k/capita/year [3]
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