Abstract
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a commensal and pathogenic bacterium responsible for harmless to severe infections in humans and food-producing animals inlcuding poultry. E. coli can significantly impact ecology and is a bioindicator of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) contamination. The global emergence of AMR is depleting the antimicrobial reserves for human use and highlights the need for antimicrobial stewardship. Generally, AMR emerges through the unjustified use of antibiotics in humans, food-producing animals, and agricultural settings. Animal species carry E. coli in their intestinal tract as a commensal organism; genetic flexibility and adaptability allow this bacterium to acquire diverse AMR determinants through selective pressure and horizontal gene transfer (HGT). HGT can be important in spreading the AMR determinants through the food chain and environmental exposure. Human exposure to this bacterium can occur through various sources, including meat contamination during animal slaughtering, animal waste, contamination of raw or processed animal milk, and the consumption of contaminated water, allowing E. coli carrying antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) to be transferred to humans. Animal waste can also be a potential contaminant of environmental sites and also facilitates the rapid dissemination of AMR determinants due to anthropogenic activities. There is an urgent need to establish proper guidelines for controlling the spread of AMR through E. coli from poultry and other food-producing animals to humans and the environment following the One Health approach. To meet this approach, potential knowledge about the recent AMR determinants acquired by E. coli and their dissemination drivers is needed. Therefore, this review concisely elaborates the E. coli epidemiology, phenotypic AMR, genotypic determinants acquired, and their dissemination driver.