STATISTICS - ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA IN FACTORY MEAT

Posted: 12/02/2003 By dwallinga@iatp.org
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Int J Food Microbiol. 2003 Aug 15;85(1-2):197-202.
Isolation of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from retail meats
purchased in Greater Washington, DC, USA.

Four hundred and seventy-two generic Escherichia coli isolates were
recovered from ground and whole retail beef, chicken, pork, and turkey
obtained from Greater Washington, DC, USA during the years 1998 to 2000.
Many of the isolates displayed resistance to tetracycline (59%),
sulfamethoxazole (45%), streptomycin (44%), cephalothin (38%) and ampicillin
(35%). Resistance was also observed, but to a lesser extent, to gentamicin
(12%), nalidixic acid (8%), chloramphenicol (6%), ceftiofur (4%) and
ceftriaxone (1%). Sixteen percent of the isolates displayed resistance to
one antimicrobial, followed by 23% to two, 23% to three, 12% to four, 7% to
five, 3% to six, 2% to seven and 2% to eight. Three E. coli isolates were
shown to possess Shiga toxin genes (stx2) via PCR; all were O non-typeable
and were recovered from ground beef samples purchased on the same day at the
same supermarket. One of the Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) isolates
was susceptible to each of the antimicrobials tested, whereas one displayed
resistance to cephalothin and sulfamethoxazole, and one displayed resistance
to ampicillin, cephalothin, gentamicin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole and
tetracycline. Findings from this study indicate that retail raw meats may
often be contaminated with antimicrobial-resistant E. coli.

Schroeder CM, White DG, Ge B, Zhang Y, McDermott PF, Ayers S, Zhao S, Meng
J. -- Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College
Park, MD 20742, USA.

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Submitted by:
David Wallinga, MD, MPA
Co-director, Food and Health Program
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
2105 First Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55404
dwallinga@iatp.org
www.iatp.org/foodandhealth

 

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