TY - JOUR AU - Faour-Klingbeil, Dima AU - Kuri, Victor AU - Fadlallah, Sukayna AU - Matar, Ghassan M. PY - 2016/04/28 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from raw vegetables in Lebanon JF - The Journal of Infection in Developing Countries JA - J Infect Dev Ctries VL - 10 IS - 04 SE - Original Articles DO - 10.3855/jidc.7745 UR - https://jidc.org/index.php/journal/article/view/27130996 SP - 354-362 AB - <p class="SmallText">Introduction: Fresh produce has been implicated in a number of documented outbreaks of foodborne illness caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Shiga toxin-producing <em>Escherichia coli </em>(STEC) have been detected on vegetables, raising concerns about the prevalence of <em>E. coli</em> contamination in produce, which can take place at various points from farm to fork. This study aimed to detect the presence of STEC and multidrug-resistant (MDR) <em>E. coli</em> on fresh vegetables and water from different sources along the fresh produce supply chain in Lebanon.</p> <p class="SmallText">Methodology: <em>E. coli </em>isolates (n = 60) were group serotyped using trivalent antisera (trivalent 1 [O111+O55+O26], trivalent 2 [O86+O119+O127], trivalent 3 [O125; O126; O128], and trivalent 4 [O114+O124+O142]) and tested for <em>stx</em><em>1</em> and <em>stx</em><em>2</em> genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Resistance to antimicrobial agents was determined using the disk diffusion method.</p> <p class="SmallText">Results: The virulence genes <em>stx</em><em>1</em> and <em>stx</em><em>2</em> were not detected in any of the isolates. However, 60% of the isolates were MDR and predominantly observed in trivalent 2 (32%). It is postulated that the inadequate post-harvest washing contributed to transmission of antimicrobial-resistant <em>E. coli</em> at wholesale and retail levels. Fresh vegetables harbor MDR <em>E. coli </em>and their consumption poses risks of increasing the reservoir of antimicrobial resistance in the intestines of the Lebanese population<em>. </em></p> <p class="SmallText">Conclusions: Greater emphasis should be placed on vigilant sanitation measures at the consumption level, and effective national risk mitigation strategies are crucial to minimize fecal contamination in the early stages of production, particularly in the post-harvest washing processes.</p> ER -