Extraintestinal Pathogenic and Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli, Including Sequence Type 131 (ST131), from Retail Chicken Breasts in the United States in 2013

Abstract

Chicken meat products are hypothesized to be vehicles for transmitting antimicrobial-resistant and extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) to consumers. To reassess this hypothesis in the current era of heightened concerns about antimicrobial use in food animals, we analyzed 175 chicken-source E. coli isolates from a 2013 Consumer Reports national survey. Isolates were screened by PCR for ExPEC-defining virulence genes. The 25 ExPEC isolates (12% of 175) and a 2:1 randomly selected set of 50 non-ExPEC isolates were assessed for their phylogenetic/ clonal backgrounds and virulence genotypes for comparison with their resistance profiles and the claims on the retail packaging label ("organic," "no antibiotics," and "natural"). Compared with the findings for non-ExPEC isolates, the group of ExPEC isolates had a higher prevalence of phylogroup B2 isolates (44% versus 4%; P Ͻ 0.001) and a lower prevalence of phylogroup A isolates (4% versus 30%; P ϭ 0.001), a higher prevalence of multiple individual virulence genes, higher virulence scores (median, 11 [range, 4 to 16] versus 8 [range, 1 to 14]; P ϭ 0.001), and higher resistance scores (median, 4 [range, 0 to 8] versus 3 [range, 0 to 10]; P Ͻ 0.001). All five isolates of sequence type 131 (ST131) were ExPEC (P ϭ 0.003), were as extensively resistant as the other isolates tested, and had higher virulence scores than the other isolates tested (median, 12 [range, 11 to 13] versus 8 [range, 1 to 16]; P ϭ 0.005). Organic labeling predicted lower resistance scores (median, 2 [range, 0 to 3] versus 4 [range, 0 to 10]; P ϭ 0.008) but no difference in ExPEC status or virulence scores. These findings document a persisting reservoir of extensively antimicrobial-resistant ExPEC isolates, including isolates from ST131, in retail chicken products in the United States, suggesting a potential public health threat.IMPORTANCE We found that among Escherichia coli isolates from retail chicken meat products purchased across the United States in 2013 (many of these isolates being extensively antibiotic resistant), a minority had genetic profiles suggesting an ability to cause extraintestinal infections in humans, such as urinary tract infection, implying a risk of foodborne disease. Although isolates from products labeled "organic" were less extensively antibiotic resistant than other isolates, they did not appear to be less virulent. These findings suggest that retail chicken products in the United States, even if they are labeled "organic," pose a potential health threat to consumers because they are contaminated with extensively antibiotic-resistant and, presumably, virulent E. coli isolates.

Occurrence of Bacterial Pathogens and Human Noroviruses in Shellfish-Harvesting Areas and Their Catchments in France

“…Here, we found that the average virulence score was higher for strains isolated from shellfish in site 1 than in sites 2 and 3. Recently, Johnson et al (2017) assigned the ExPEC status to E. coli isolated from surface waters and animals based on the detection of a set of virulence genes. Their analysis focused on the detection of papAH and/or papC (encoding P fimbriae), sfa / focDE (S and F1 fimbriae), afa / draDC (Dr-binding adhesins), kpsMI (group 2 capsule) and iutA (aerobactin system); a strain being considered ExPEC when positive for at least two of these genes.…”

Prevalence and Molecular Characteristics of Avian-Origin mcr-1-Harboring Escherichia coli in Shandong Province, China

“…Many studies have been reported that in Brazil, about 71.0% of the E. coli isolates from commercial chicken carcasses were MDR (Magiorakos et al, 2012); in Italy, 66.9% of the E. coli isolates from chicken meat were MDR (Ghodousi et al, 2015); in Egypt, 100% of the E. coli isolates from avian source were MDR (Enany et al, 2019), which demonstrated the high antimicrobial resistance. The addition of extensive subtherapeutic doses of antibiotics in animal feed is a very important reason for the rapid dissemination of antibioticresistant bacteria (Johnson et al, 2017).…”

Population structure and antimicrobial resistance traits of avian‐origin mcr‐1 ‐positive Escherichia coli in Eastern China, 2015 to 2017

“…For example, the infectious diseases associated with drug‐resistant bacteria, such as carbapenem‐resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE), cause serious morbidity, increased mortality, and lots of economic losses (de Kraker, Davey, & Grundmann, ). In addition to the extensive use of antibiotics in human disease treatment, antimicrobial consumption in global animal farming, especially extensively subtherapeutic‐dose addition in animal feed, is a very important reason for the rapid dissemination of antibiotic‐resistant Enterobacteriaceae (Johnson et al, ; Liu et al, ). Polymyxins have been regarded as a final line of antimicrobial agents against the serious infections caused by MDR bacteria, such as clinically CRE (Shen, Wu, et al, ).…”