High prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-Producing multidrug resistant Escherichia coli from poultry and livestock in South Korea in 2018

초록

The emergence and rapid spread of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae has seriously threatened global health. In the present study, we determined the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibilities and genetic properties of ESBL-producing E. coli (ESBL-EC) strains isolated from food animals in South Korea. Among a total of 150 fecal samples of healthy chickens (n = 34), pigs (n = 59) and cattle (n = 57), 77 non-duplicated cefotaxime-resistant ESBL-ECs were isolated from 32 chicken, 41 pig and 4 cattle samples. All isolates showed multidrug resistance. All ESBL-ECs produced at least one type of β-lactamase enzymes. In addition, CTX-M-14, CTX-M-55 and CTX-M-65 were predominant genotypes in chicken, pig and cattle samples, respectively. Our results demonstrate the high prevalence and diversity of MDR-ESBL-ECs in food animals and highlight these animals as a high-risk reservoirs associated with human pathogens for the spread of ESBL-ECs to humans.