Antimicrobial Resistance and Infection Control (Aug 2017)

High prevalence of the mcr-1 gene in retail chicken meat in the Netherlands in 2015

  • Eefje J. A. Schrauwen,
  • Pepijn Huizinga,
  • Nick van Spreuwel,
  • Carlo Verhulst,
  • Marjolein F. Q. Kluytmans-van den Bergh,
  • Jan A. J. W. Kluytmans

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-017-0242-8
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 1
pp. 1 – 5

Abstract

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Abstract Recently, plasmid-mediated colistin resistance was reported in humans, animals and food. We studied the presence of mcr-1 and mcr-2 in Dutch retail chicken meat. The prevalence of mcr-1 was 24,8% (53/214), whereas mcr-2 was not found. The presence of mcr-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae was confirmed by culture in 34/53 samples (64,2%). The prevalence depended on the supermarket chain and was lower in free-range chicken samples. The unexpected high prevalence of mcr-1 in food is cause for concern.

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