The prevalence and characterization of extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) - producing escherichia coli isolated from retail raw port in Singapore

Abstract

This report introduces antimicrobial resistance, how bacteria attain antimicrobial resistance and its effects on the society. This report focuses on Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBLs) as World Health Organization (WHO) categorized ESBLs at the top category for research and development in need of new antibiotics. With these, it is crucial to understand the prevalence and characteristic of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamases (ESBL) -producing Escherichia coli (E. coli) in Singapore. The study concentrates on the raw pork collected in the 5-main retailed supermarket in Singapore – Giant, Prime, Fairprice, Sheng Siong and Cold Storage. Due to scarcity of land in Singapore, most of the food found in Singapore is imported from other countries. It is important to understand how the food consumed can potentially impact the human health. The results of this study have shown that chilled pork samples contain more ESBL-producing E. coli than frozen pork sample. This may be due to several possible reasons such as type of packaging used on the samples or cross-contamination due to improper handling of equipment, resulting in the spread of ESBL-producing E. coli. The presence of ESBL-producing E. coli may be present in the animals before slaughtering or any process throughout slaughtering and packaging of meat. Therefore, by discovering the prevalence and characterization of ESBL-producing E. coli in retail raw pork samples in Singapore could possibly allow decision makers to make constructive decisions.