Prevalence of antibiotic resistant pathogenic E. coli from animals, retail and humans diagnosed with Gastroenteritisv

Foodborne pathogens represent one of the major challenges to health systems around the world. This risk is exacerbated by the presence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) pathogens. Knowledge of the presence of these pathogens in the food supply chain would help in establishing intervention strategies to mitigate their risk. The objective of this study was to detect AMR among serotypes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) food adulterants serotypes of E. coli in the food supply chain and among isolates from gastroenteritis cases. E. coli isolates recovered from animals, meat processing plants, retail, and humans were examined for the presence of AMR using phenotypic and genotypic approaches. AMR to aminoglycosides, β-lactams, and tetracycline were detected in all isolates recovered from these sources at different levels. Similarly, presence of the bla-Tem, bla-SHV, aadA, and strAB genes were detected in isolates from these sources but there was no significant correlation between the genetic detection and phenotypic expression AMR.