Safety of Retailed Poultry: Analysis of Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli From Raw Chicken and Poultry Fecal Matter From Selected Farms and Retail Outlets in Accra, Ghana

PURPOSE: To assess the safety of retailed poultry using the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli (E. coli), a dominant intestinal microflora. METHODS: Two medium-scale farms and 8 well-known retail outlets within the La-Nkwantanang Madina municipality in Accra were purposively selected for sampling from January to March 2020. We randomly sampled raw chicken (n = 25) and poultry fecal matter (n = 50). All samples were immediately transported on ice to the laboratory for analysis within 12 hours after collection. Conventional culture techniques, biochemical tests, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) were used for isolation and identification. The antimicrobial susceptibility of isolated E. coli strains (n = 36) was tested using the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method. RESULTS: Antimicrobial resistance in E. coli ranged from 10.7 % (cefotaxime) to 82.1% (tetracycline) in fecal matter and 0% (gentamicin & cefotaxime) to 62.5% (tetracycline) in chicken. The prevalence of antimicrobial resistant E. coli in fecal samples was higher than in chicken for almost all antibiotics tested, except for cefoxitin, cefuroxime, and ceftazidime. Multidrug resistance was 57.1% in E. coli from fecal samples compared to 62.5% in chicken. CONCLUSION: The high level of resistance to E. coli in fecal matter is of public health concern because cross-contamination often occurs during slaughter and processing. This calls for close surveillance and strict adherence to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles in the chicken production chain to prevent the transmission of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli strains through the food chain.