Abstract
Bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat (RTE) street foods is a major concern worldwide. Dissemination of antibiotic resistant pathogens from food is an emerging public-health threat. To investigate the prevalence of antibiotic resistance genes and ceftazidime resistance-associated efflux pumps in foodborne pathogens, 270 RTE street foods samples were collected in three densely populated Taiwanese cities. Among 70 ceftazidime non-susceptible isolates, 21 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 12 Pseudomonas spp., 22 Acinetobacter spp., and 15 Enterobacteriaceae isolates were identified. Phylogenetic analyses revealed high levels of genetic diversity between all of the different strains. Multi-drug resistance was observed in 86.4% (19/22) of Acinetobacter spp., 100% (12/12) of Pseudomonas spp., 71.4% (15/21) of S. maltophilia, and 93.3% (14/15) of Enterobacteriaceae. Of 70 ceftazidime non-susceptible isolates, 13 contained ESBLs or plasmid-mediated ampC genes and 23 contained ceftazidime resistance-associated efflux pumps, with Acinetobacter spp. identified as predominant isolate (69.6%; 16/23). AdeIJK pump RNA expression in Acinetobacter isolates was 1.9- to 2-fold higher in active efflux strains. Nine clinically resistant genes were detected: catIII and cmlA (chloramphenicol); aacC1, aacC2, aacC3, and aacC4 (gentamicin); tet(A), tet(C), and tet(D) (tetracycline). The scope and abundance of multidrug-resistant bacteria described in this report underscores the need for ongoing and/or expanded RTE monitoring and control measures.