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

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 13-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 13-lactamase-encoding genes included ESBL-encoding genes blaCTX-M-3, blaCTX-M-14, blaCTX-M-15, blaSHV-1, blaSHV-2 and blaSHV-12; the AmpC 13-lactamase-encoding gene blaCMY-2; and the narrow-spectrum 13-lactamase-encoding genes blaTEM-1 and blaOXA-1. All S. enterica isolates were negative for carbapenemase-encoding genes. Molecular analysis of plasmid transferability and replicon typing revealed that most plasmids (with 13-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.

Automated summary

The study in Egypt revealed the presence of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica with extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production in retail fish, posing a potential public health threat due to their resistance and transmission possibility to humans. The identified ESBL-producing S. enterica strains exhibited resistance to multiple classes of antimicrobials and carried various ESBL-encoding genes, emphasizing the importance of monitoring antibiotic resistance in foodborne pathogens.