A Pilot Study on the Prevalence and Characterization of Multidrug-Resistant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Chicken and Pork Meat Around Kathmandu District, Nepal.

Abstract

The increasing trend of multidrug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) has been a major concern for the healthcare settings in Nepal and globally. In Nepal, previous studies on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have received limited attention to animal-sourced food, which represents a significant route for the zoonotic transmission of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. This study aimed to assess antibiotic resistance and multidrug resistance patterns of Gram-negative bacteria isolated from intestinal and gizzard samples of chicken and pork meat collected from five municipalities in Kathmandu. From 13 samples (11 chicken and 2 pork), a robust collection of 136 Gram-negative bacteria was isolated and subjected to susceptibility testing against 16 different antibiotics. The bacterial isolates, representing 11 distinct types, were successfully identified: Escherichia coli (33.82%) and Shigella spp. (11.76%) were the predominant bacteria, followed by Yersinia (8.8%), Citrobacter (8.8%), Proteus (8.8%), Klebsiella (5.1%), and Plesiomonas (5.1%), among others. Notably, the prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria was notably high, with half (50%) of the isolates exhibiting resistance to multiple classes of antibiotics. Additionally, 73.9% of E. coli, 14.28% of Klebsiella, 58.33% of Yersinia, and 41.67% of Citrobacter are found to be multidrug resistant. Thus, this study showed that the meat samples exhibited a high burden of MDR-GNB, indicating a high risk of food-borne illness and zoonotic transmission, calling for AMR monitoring and mitigation strategies.