Prevalence of β-Lactamase Producing Escherichia Coli from Retail Meat in Turkey

Extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and plasmid-mediated AmpC β-lactamase (pAmpC) producing Escherichia coli have been shown to be present in humans and animals representing a significant problem worldwide. This study aimed to search the presence of ESBL and/or AmpC-producing E. coli in retail meats (chicken and beef) in Turkey. A total of 88 β-lactamase-producing E. coli were isolated from chicken (n = 81/100) and beef meat (n = 7/100) samples and their susceptibility to several antimicrobials were tested using disc diffusion method. E. coli isolates were further characterized for their phylogenetic groups. β-Lactamase encoding (blaTEM , blaSHV , blaOXA , blaCTX-M , and blaAmpC ) and quinolone resistance genes (qnrA, qnrB, qnrS, qepA, and acc(6')-Ib-cr) were also secreened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, in regard to β-lactamase genes, 84 of 88 isolates were positive for blaCTX-M-1 (n = 39), blaCTX-M-3 (n = 5), blaCTX-M-15 (n = 4), blaTEM-1b (n = 2), blaSHV-12 (n = 1), blaCTX-M-1 /blaTEM-1b (n = 10), blaCTX-M-1 /blaTEM-1b /blaSHV-5 (n = 1), blaCTX-M-1 /blaCMY-2 (n = 1) and blaTEM-1b /blaCMY-2 (n = 6), blaCTX-M-15 /blaSHV-12 (n = 1), blaCTX-M-15 /blaTEM-1b (n = 1), blaTEM-1b /blaSHV-12 (n = 1), and blaCMY-2 (n = 12) genes. Resistance to cefuroxime (75.6% and 85.7%), nalidixic acid (89% and 85.7%), tetracycline (91.4% and 100%), streptomycin (40.2% and 100%), and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (36.6% and 85.7%) was observed among strains isolated from chicken and beef, respectively. However, all isolates were found to be susceptible to amikacin, imipenem, and cefepime. Resistance to ampicillin and cefoxitin was significantly linked to blaCMY-2 gene, while there was a significant correlation between CTX-M type ESBL and antimicrobial resistance to cefuroxime and streptomycin (P < 0.05). The results of this study suggest that raw chicken retail meats are highly contaminated with ESBL-producing E. coli implementing a great risk to human health in Turkey.