Prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Salmonella enterica from retail fishes in Egypt: A major threat to public health

Mahmoud F Gawish; Ashraf M Ahmed; Helmy A Torky; Tadashi Shimamoto

doi:10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109268

Prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Salmonella enterica from retail fishes in Egypt: A major threat to public health

Int J Food Microbiol. 2021 Aug 2:351:109268. doi: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109268. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Authors

Mahmoud F Gawish¹, Ashraf M Ahmed¹, Helmy A Torky², Tadashi Shimamoto³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Bacteriology, Mycology and Immunology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr El-Sheikh 33516, Egypt.
² Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Alexandria University, Egypt.
³ Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Hygiene, Graduate School of Integrated Sciences for Life, Hiroshima University, Higashihiroshima 739-8528, Japan. Electronic address: tadashis@hiroshima-u.ac.jp.

PMID: 34098467
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2021.109268

Abstract

The increase in multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica and its spread from food to humans are considered a serious public health concern worldwide. Little is currently known about the prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing S. enterica in fish in Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the existence of ESBL-producing S. enterica in retail fish in Egypt. In total, 200 fish samples were collected randomly from various retail fish markets in Egypt. S. enterica were detected in 19 (9.5%; 95% CI: 5.8-14.4) of the fish samples analyzed. Of the 19 non-repetitive S. enterica isolates, 18 were serologically categorized into eight S. enterica serovars and a non-typable serovar. All 19 S. enterica isolates (100%) showed multidrug-resistant phenotypes to at least three classes of antimicrobials, and 11 (57.9%) exhibited an ESBL-resistant phenotype and harbored at least one ESBL-encoding gene. The ESBL-producing S. enterica serovars were as follows: Kentucky (3 isolates; 15.8%), Enteritidis (2 isolates; 10.5%), Typhimurium (2 isolates; 10.5%), and 1 isolate (5.3%) each of Infantis, Virchow, Paratyphi B, and Senftenberg. The identified β-lactamase-encoding genes included ESBL-encoding genes bla_CTX-M-3, bla_CTX-M-14, bla_CTX-M-15, bla_SHV-1, bla_SHV-2 and bla_SHV-12; the AmpC β-lactamase-encoding gene bla_CMY-2; and the narrow-spectrum β-lactamase-encoding genes bla_TEM-1 and bla_OXA-1. All S. enterica isolates were negative for carbapenemase-encoding genes. Molecular analysis of plasmid transferability and replicon typing revealed that most plasmids (with β-lactamase-encoding genes) were transferrable, and the most common incompatibility groups were IncI1, IncA/C, IncHI1, and IncN. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report for molecular characterization of ESBL-producing S. enterica in fish in Egypt. The occurrence of ESBL-producing S. enterica in retail fish constitutes a potential public health threat with the possibility of transmission of these strains with resistance genes to humans. Such transmission would exacerbate the resistance to an important class of antibiotics commonly used in hospitals to treat typhoid and non-typhoidal Salmonella infections.

Keywords: Africa; AmpC; Antimicrobial resistance; Food safety; Plasmid.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / drug effects
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics
Egypt / epidemiology
Fishes / microbiology*
Humans
Plasmids / genetics
Prevalence
Public Health
Salmonella Infections, Animal / epidemiology
Salmonella Infections, Animal / microbiology*
Salmonella enterica / drug effects
Salmonella enterica / genetics
Salmonella enterica / isolation & purification
Salmonella enterica / metabolism*
beta-Lactamases / genetics
beta-Lactamases / metabolism*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
beta-Lactamases