Safety of Retailed Poultry: Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli From Raw Chicken and Poultry Fecal Matter From Selected Farms and Retail Outlets in Accra, Ghana
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Purpose: To assess the safety of retailed poultry using the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli ( E. coli), a dominant intestinal microflora. Methods: Two medium-scale farms and 8 well-known retail outlets within the La-Nkwantanang Madina municipality in Accra were purposively selected for sampling from January to March 2020. We randomly sampled raw chicken (n = 25) and poultry fecal matter (n = 50). All samples were immediately transported on ice to the laboratory for analysis within 12 hours after collection. Conventional culture techniques, biochemical tests, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) were used for isolation and identification. The antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated E. coli strains (n = 36) was tested using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. Results: Antimicrobial resistance in E. coli ranged from 10.7 % (cefotaxime) to 82.1% (tetracycline) in fecal matter and 0% (gentamicin & cefotaxime) to 62.5% (tetracycline) in chicken. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistant E. coli in fecal samples was higher than in chicken for almost all antibiotics tested, except for cefoxitin, cefuroxime, and ceftazidime. Multidrug resistance was 57.1% in E. coli from fecal samples compared to 62.5% in chicken. Conclusion: The high level of resistance to E. coli in fecal matter is of public health concern because cross-contamination often occurs during slaughter and processing. This calls for close surveillance and strict adherence to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles in the chicken production chain to prevent the transmission of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli strains through the food chain.
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Six animal studies reported MDR prevalence ranging from 14.9% to 100% in E. coli.
“Six “animal studies” reported MDR prevalence ranging from 14.9% to 100% in E. coli [45,46,48,49,51,63].”
From A Systematic Review on Antimicrobial Resistance in Ghana from a One Health Perspective (2024) · cites this paper as [46]
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- Authors
- Mensah, G. I., Adjei, V. Y., Vicar, E. K., Atsu, P. S., Blavo, D. L., Johnson, S. A. M., & Addo, K. K.
- Affiliations
- University of Ghana (GH)
- University for Development Studies (GH)
- Corresponding author
- Mensah, Gloria Ivy
- ORCID
- Venue
- Microbiology Insights
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 15
- Pages
- 11786361221093278-11786361221093278
- ISSN
- 1178-6361 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9067029
- OpenAlex
- W4226142364
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 26
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 1
- FWCI
- 1.31
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Microbiology Insights (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Wellcome Trust (107753/A/15/Z)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Medicine › Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology › Antibiotic Use and Resistance
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Science › Salmonella and Campylobacter epidemiology
- Keywords
- antimicrobial resistance, Escherichia coli, retail poultry, raw chicken meat, multidrug resistance, food safety, tetracycline resistance, cross-contamination, HACCP, food chain, Accra
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