OpenLB
Open Library of Bioscience

ESBL/AmpC-producing Escherichia coli is increasingly isolated from humans and animals worldwide. The occurrence of ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli was studied in food-producing animals in Finland, a country with a low and controlled use of antimicrobials in meat production chain. A total of 648 cattle, 531 pig, 495 broiler and 35 turkey faecal samples were collected from four Finnish slaughterhouses to determine the presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL/AmpC)-producing E. coli. In addition, 260 broiler and 15 turkey samples were screened for carbapenemase-producing E. coli. Susceptibility to different class of cephalosporins and meropenem was determined with disc diffusion tests according to the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST). Determination of ESBL/AmpC production was performed with a combination disc diffusion test according to the recommendations of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Plasmidic bla genes were characterized by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. A collection of isolates producing AmpC enzyme but not carrying plasmidic bla  was analysed by PCR and sequencing for possible chromosomal ampC promoter area mutations. Altogether ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli was recovered from five cattle (0.8%), eight pig (1.5%) and 40 broiler samples (8.1%). No ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli was found in turkey samples. Carbapenem resistance was not detected. Altogether ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli was found on 4 (2.0%), 3 (4.5%) and 14 (25%) cattle, pig and broiler farms, respectively. From cattle samples 3 (27%) bla and from broiler samples 13 (33%) bla and 22 (55%) bla gene-carrying isolates were detected. In pigs, no plasmidic bla gene-carrying isolates were found. In all analysed isolates, the same mutations in the promoter region of chromosomal ampC were detected. The results showed low occurrence of ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli in Finnish food-producing animals. In pigs, plasmidic bla -carrying E. coli was not detected at all.