Author(s)

John Antwi Apenteng¹, Nicholas Agyepong^2*, Raymond Ashalley Tetteh³, Jonathan Asante⁴, Esther Eyram Asare Yeboah¹, Tracy Turkson¹, Emmanuel Sarpong¹, Vera Ampomabea Akoto¹, Theodora Sefa Danquah¹

¹Department of Pharmaceutical Science, School of Pharmacy, Central University, Accra, Ghana.
²Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Ghana.
³Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy, Central University, Accra, Ghana.
⁴Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana.

Antimicrobial resistance has become a major challenge to the treatment and prevention of infections resulted in high morbidity and mortality globally. The inappropriate or abuse of antibiotics in animal farming is a key factor and thus led to the emergence of bacteria resistance and subsequent transfer of resistance genes to humans through the food chain. This study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella typhi (S. typhi) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolated from various meat and fish samples and their susceptibility patterns against five commonly used antibiotics in Ghana (Ciprofloxacin 5 μg, Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid 20/10 μg, Imipenem 10 μg, Tetracycline 30 μg and Ceftazidime 30 μg). A total of 105 meat and fish samples were obtained from Tema and Prampram markets and bacteria isolation was carried out using appropriate selective microbial culture media and various biochemical methods for identification. The susceptibility patterns were determined using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method and the results were interpreted using the CLSI 2020 guidelines. The results revealed a total of 56 bacterial isolates comprising 14 E. coli (25%) and 42 S. typhi (75%) isolated from the meat and fish samples. The antibiogram study showed a high resistance rate (88.64%) of S. typhi isolates to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and tetracycline (97.73%). A moderate susceptibility of the isolates was obtained with imipenem (53.27%). All the E. coli isolates were resistant to tetracycline (100%) and demonstrated 78.57% and 50% resistance to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and ceftazidime respectively. A total of 78.57% of the E. coli isolates and 68.18% of S. typhi isolates showed multidrug resistance. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index for all the isolates ranged from 0.2 to 1.00 with two S. typhi isolates and one E. coli isolate having a MAR index of 1.00 signifying total resistance to all the 5 antibiotics tested. In conclusion, E. coli and S. typhi isolated from the meat samples exhibited high rate of resistance against the antibiotics tested and thus possesses a major health risk due to inappropriate use of antibiotics in animal and fish farming and possible transfer of resistant strains to humans.

Antibiotic Resistance, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Meat, Fish

Apenteng, J. , Agyepong, N. , Tetteh, R. , Asante, J. , Yeboah, E. , Turkson, T. , Sarpong, E. , Akoto, V. and Danquah, T. (2023) Prevalence and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Escherichia Coli and Salmonella Typhi Isolated from Meat and Fish Samples from Selected Markets in a Metropolis and District in Ghana. Advances in Infectious Diseases, 13, 675-691. doi: 10.4236/aid.2023.134055.