Contamination of retail market meat with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase genes in Vietnam

The contamination of retail meat with antibiotic-resistant bacteria poses a substantial public health risk because of the potential spread of these bacteria within communities. The contamination of retail meat with extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria was investigated in four cities in Vietnam using real-time PCR, employing ESBL marker genes. This method provides a more comprehensive assessment of ESBL-producing bacterial contamination in meat samples than culture-based methods because it directly detects resistance genes from the extracted sample DNA. Retail meats in Vietnam were substantially contaminated with ESBL genes [54 % (n = 46) and 48 % (n = 49) of chicken and pork samples, respectively]. No significant differences in ESBL gene detection rates were observed between chicken and pork. The most frequently detected ESBL gene was blaTEM, followed by blaSHV, whereas blaCTX-M was found in only 4-8 % of the samples. Ho Chi Minh City showed significantly higher contamination rates for both chicken and pork than those in other cities. ESBL-producing Escherichia coli strains were isolated from contaminated meat samples and genomically analyzed. All isolated strains carried blaCTX-M, with some harboring blaTEM, whereas blaSHV was not detected. Although IncFIB plasmids were prevalent among the ESBL-producing E. coli strains, the variability in resistance gene profiles suggested that the endemic spread of specific resistance gene-carrying plasmids was unlikely. Overall, these findings highlight the effectiveness of the ESBL gene detection method and the high levels of ESBL-producing E. coli in retail meat.