Abstract

The development of Extended-Spectrum B-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli and thus Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) are emerging as an increasing concern in the public health domain. This was done to isolate, identify and describe ESBL producing E. coli of retail chicken meat in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in Pakistan. One hundred (100) unwrapped and fresh poultry meat samples were picked in local markets and butchers in Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi and Charsadda. Samples were incubated in modified Tryptone Soya Broth (mTSB) and grown on MacConkey agar with biochemical confirmation of the growth being done through the standard tests (Indole, MR, VP and TSI). Additional identification was based on gram staining and colony morphology. The screening of E. coli was done with cefotaxime-supplemented agar and the susceptibility to antibiotics was measured through the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion test on the Mueller-Hinton agar as per the CLSI standards. Out of the isolates, 25 were also confirmed to be ESBL-producing E. coli. All 25 (100 per cent) resistant to third-generation cephalosporins (ceftoxime, ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, cefepime) and b-lactam/b-lactamase inhibitor (amoxicillin-clavulanacid, cefotaxime-clavulanate, ceftazidime-clavulanate). The zone diameters were always within the resistant range (6-14mm), no intermediary or vulnerable profiles were found. These results provide support to the fact that the B-lactam resistance in the E. coli strains obtained due to retail chicken meat is high and this implies that there is a pathway through the food chain that could be used to transmit the resistance to humans. This paper indicates the urgent necessity of strong food safety measures, regular monitoring, as well as antibiotic stewardship to reduce the proliferation of multidrugresistant bacteria in society.