Prevalence and Antibiogram Profiling of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) Producing Escherichia coli in Raw Vegetables, in Malaysia

The widespread of antimicrobial resistance has drawn the public’s attention worldwide. The presence of ESBL E. coli in fresh produce and other food represents a growing problem involving food safety and has become a global food safety issue. This study was aimed to determine the prevalence of ESBL producing E. coli in raw vegetables (lettuce and bean sprouts) from hypermarkets and wet markets and to establish the antibiogram of the isolates. In this study, a total of 179 samples (95 samples of lettuce and 84 samples of bean sprouts) were collected from hypermarkets and wet markets. The most-probable-number analysis and multiplex polymerase chain reaction (MPN-PCR) was used to detect and quantify the ESBL producing E. coli in raw vegetable samples. The prevalence rate of ESBL producing E. coli in lettuce and bean sprouts were 62.11% (59/95) and 64.29% (54/84), respectively, with a microbial load range of <3 to >1100 MPN/g. A total of 15 isolates of ESBL producing E. coli recovered from the samples were tested with antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) with different antibiotic classes. All isolates were found susceptible to cefepime, piperacillin/tazobactam, and meropenem. A total of nine ESBL producing E. coli strains showed multidrug resistance. In conclusion, the high prevalence rate of ESBL producing E. coli in raw vegetables showed that raw vegetables could act as a potential vehicle to transmit ESBL producing E. coli to the human population.