Dissemination of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase- and AmpC β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli within the Food Distribution System of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

To investigate the dissemination of ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli within the food distribution system of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam, the prevalence of ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli strains in chicken meat, pork, beef, and fish/shrimp samples obtained from slaughterhouses, a wholesale market, and supermarkets was examined. Among the total of 330 collected food samples, ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli was detected in 150 samples (45.5%). The highest prevalence of these isolates was in chicken meat (76/82, 92.7%), followed by pork (32/92, 34.8%), beef (18/74, 34.3%), and fish/shrimp (24/82, 29.3%). A total of 342 strains of ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli were isolated from 150 positive food samples. The most prevalent genes responsible for ESBL or pAmpC activity belonged to the CTX-M-9 (110/342, 31.2%), CTX-M-1 (102/342, 29.8%), and CIT (118/342, 34.5%) groups. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the high occurrence of pAmpC (37.1%) in animal-based food in Vietnam. Among the 342 total ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli isolates, 276 (80.7%) were resistant to at least 6 antibiotic agents. Notably, high percentages of resistance to ciprofloxacin and fosfomycin were found in isolates from chicken (80.5% and 50.8%, resp.). These findings demonstrate that animal-based food products in HCMC represent a major reservoir of ESBL/pAmpC-producing E. coli.