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. 2025 Jun:128:104709.
doi: 10.1016/j.fm.2024.104709. Epub 2024 Dec 7.

Prevalence, seasonal variation, and proteomic relationship of β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter spp. in poultry meat at the abattoir level in Greece

Anestis Tsitsos  1 , Alexandros Damianos  1 , Vasilios Tsiouris  2 , Elias Papapanagiotou  1 , Nikolaos Soultos  1 , Anna Papa  3 , Ilias Tyrodimos  4 , Vangelis Economou  5
Affiliations

Prevalence, seasonal variation, and proteomic relationship of β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter spp. in poultry meat at the abattoir level in Greece

Anestis Tsitsos et al. Food Microbiol. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Extended-spectrum-β-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales and Acinetobacter spp. are important nosocomial pathogens that are frequently isolated from patients and food matrices. Nevertheless, comprehensive data on the prevalence, spatiotemporal variations, and characterization of β-lactam-resistant bacteria in poultry meat products are limited. This study provides the first comprehensive assessment in Greece of the prevalence, characteristics, and proteomic relationships of β-lactam-resistant strains in poultry meat at the abattoir level. Strains were selectively isolated using β-lactams and identified via MALDI-TOF MS. Antimicrobial susceptibility and the presence of common β-lactamase genes were assessed, and protein profiles were analyzed to determine strain relationships, whereas E. coli isolates were further classified into phylogenetic groups. The overall prevalence was 40.8% for E. coli, 3.3% for K. pneumoniae, and 46.7% for Acinetobacter spp., with notable seasonal and regional fluctuations especially in Acinetobacter spp. Most strains (97.9% of E. coli, 100.0% of K. pneumoniae and 88.1% of Acinetobacter spp.) were classified as multidrug or extensively drug-resistant. All E. coli and K. pneumoniae strains were phenotypically confirmed as ESBL/AmpC producers, whereas one K. pneumoniae strain showed additional resistance to ertapenem. The majority of E. coli strains (91.49%) and all K. pneumoniae strains carried β-lactamase genes, predominantly blaCTX-M group 1 in E. coli and blaSHV in K. pneumoniae. Conversely, only 10.2% of Acinetobacter strains harbored β-lactamase genes. Most E. coli isolates belonged to phylogroups A (46.9%) and B1 (34.7%). Protein profile analysis indicated relatedness among isolates across different regions and seasons. These findings underscore poultry meat's role as a reservoir of resistant strains of E. coli, K. pneumoniae, and Acinetobacter spp. and highlight the need for enhanced surveillance and mitigation strategies to reduce public health risks.

Keywords: Acinetobacter spp.; Escherichia coli; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Multidrug resistance; Poultry meat; β-lactamase.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Anestis Tsitsos reports financial support was provided by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI). If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. (1)

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