Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria Contaminating Raw Meat Sold in Accra, Ghana

Efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) should be based on the One Health approach, involving human health, animal health, and the environment. In Ghana, previous studies on AMR have given little attention to animal source food, a major route of transmission of antibiotic-resistant zoonotic pathogens. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria in meat sold in Accra.

This was a cross-sectional study in which 270 meat samples (90 each of beef, goat meat, and chicken) were collected, and investigated for contamination with multidrug-resistant bacteria. The bacteria were subjected to susceptibility testing against amikacin (30 µg), ampicillin (10 µg), amoxicillin-clavulanate (20/10 µg), cefuroxime (30 µg), ceftriaxone (30 µg), ceftazidime (30 µg), cefepime (30 µg), ciprofloxacin (5 µg), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (1.25/23.75 µg), ertapenem (10 µg), meropenem (10 µg), imipenem (10 µg), tigecycline (15 µg), and gentamicin (10 µg).

Thirty-two different types of bacteria, totalling 558, were isolated, the predominant being Escherichia coli (44.6%), Aeromonas hydrophila (19.9%), Vibrio cholerae (3.4%), Aeromonas veronii (3.2%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (3.1%). The prevalence of MDR among the contaminating bacteria was 14.9%. The MDR distribution among the predominant bacteria was Escherichia coli (18.7%), Aeromonas hydrophila (11.1%), Vibrio cholerae and Aeromonas veronii (0.0% each), and K. pneumoniae (5.6%). Moreover, 2.0% of the contaminating bacteria were extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) producers, all of which occurred in the chicken samples, and their distribution was: Escherichia coli (1.3%), Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pantoea spp., Enterobacter cloacae, and Serratia plymuthica (0.2% each).

The meat samples were heavily contaminated with Escherichia coli and Aeromonas hydrophila, and less frequently, with Vibrio cholerae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and other organisms. The prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria was moderate (14.9%), while that of ESBL producers was low (2%).