Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli Isolated from Various Meat Types in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

Meats are important potential sources of foodborne pathogens including Escherichia coli. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from meats in the Tamale metropolis of Ghana. Isolation of Escherichia coli was done using the procedure according to the USA-FDA Bacteriological Analytical Manual. Antibiotic resistance patterns in the Escherichia coli isolates were determined by the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method against 8 antibiotics. The overall prevalence of Escherichia coli in the meat samples was 84.00% (189/225). Mutton (88.89%), guinea fowl (88.89%), beef (86.67%), local chicken (80.00%), and chevon (75.56%) were contaminated by Escherichia coli. The average coliform count was 4.22 cfu/cm2 and was highest in guinea fowl (4.94 log cfu/cm2) and lowest in local chicken (3.23 log cfu/cm2). The Escherichia coli isolates were highly resistant to erythromycin (85.00%), tetracycline (73.33%), and ampicillin (71.67%). The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index ranged from 0.13 to 1. The Escherichia coli isolates exhibited 23 antimicrobial resistance patterns with resistant pattern TeAmpE (tetracycline-ampicillin-erythromycin) being the most common. Multidrug resistance was 68.33% (41/60) among the Escherichia coli isolates. The results showed that Escherichia coli was commonly present in the various meat types and exhibited multidrug resistances, necessitating efficient antibiotic stewardship guidelines to streamline their use in the production industry.