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

Abstract

The prevalence 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 180 samples (95 samples of lettuce and 85 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 rates of ESBL-producing E. coli in lettuce and bean sprouts were 62.11% (59/95) and 63.53% (54/85), respectively, with a microbial load range of 1100 MPN/g. A total of 15 isolates of ESBL-producing E. coli recovered from the samples were tested with an antibiotic susceptibility test (AST) with different antibiotic classes. All isolates were found to be 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.

Keywords

• raw vegetables
• ESBL-producing <i>E. coli</i>
• most probable number–polymerase chain reaction (MPN–PCR)
• antibiogram