Presence of carbapenem resistance in hybrid E. coli pathovars from ready-to-eat fresh-cut fruits in Accra, Ghana.

AIM This study reports the presence of carbapenem-resistant E. coli hybrid pathovars and its prevalence in 200 fresh-cut fruits from Accra. METHODS AND RESULTS Standard culture methods were used to quantify microbial indicators and E. coli on fresh-cut fruits retailed in formal and informal outlets in Accra. The Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method was used to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of E. coli, while multiplex PCR was employed to identify the virulence and carbapenem resistance genes. E. coli prevalence in cut-fruits was 17%, with pawpaw, watermelon, and mix-fruit having higher prevalence than pineapple. Of the 34 E. coli isolates from fresh-cut fruits, 44% showed broad resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, while 5.9% showed carbapenem resistance. The study identified virulence genes associated with all E. coli isolates including stx1, stx2, escV, and ipaH, of which 97% were hybrid pathovars bearing genes for STEC/EPEC/EIEC. The carbapenemase gene, blaIMP, was associated with both carbapenem-resistant E. coli phenotypes identified. CONCLUSION Despite a low carbapenem-resistance prevalence observed among E. coli isolates, hypervirulent hybrid strains of E. coli is present in fresh-cut fruits in the sampling area, posing a potential public health risk to fresh-cut fruit consumers.