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Page No. : 53-57

ABSTRACT

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains pose a growing concern as foodborne bacterial pathogens. A total of 80 samples were collected from 10 pork retail shops (8 each), located across different districts in Andhra Pradesh comprising of pork samples (2), hand swabs of retailers (2) and swabs from cutting boards (2) and knives (2). Results indicated that 50% (40/80) of samples from pork retail shops tested positive for E. coli through cultural isolation and biochemical tests. Among the 40 phenotypically positive E. coli isolates, 72.5% (29/40) were confirmed by species-specific PCR targeting a region of E16S rRNA gene. The highest E. coli occurrence was observed in retailer hand swabs (60%), followed by pork samples (35%) and swabs from cutting boards and knives (25% each). Single isolate harboring stx2 gene, a virulence marker of E. coli. Regarding the antibiogram profile, the highest resistance was noted against cefazolin and co-trimoxazole (100% each) followed by tetracycline (86.2%), novobiocin and nitrofurantoin (75.8% each), chloramphenicol (34.5%) and ciprofloxacin (27.6%). Nevertheless, imipenem, piperacillin/tazobactam, amikacin and colistin were effective.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance, pork, STEC