Strategic measures for the control of surging antimicrobial resistance in Hong Kong and mainland of China

Cheng, Vincent CC; Wong, Sally CY; Ho, Pak-Leung; Yuen, Kwok-Yung

Control of antibiotic resistance in China VCC Cheng et al 5 the influx of enterococcal antibiotic resistance and virulence genes from ready-to-eat food into the human digestive tract, it was estimated that the influx of tet genes in the human digestive tract is 3.8310 5 gene copies per meal of chicken salad. The influx of antibiotic resistance genes was associated with ready-to-eat foods because they are commonly consumed and may play a role in the acquisition of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the human digestive tract. 76 Similarly, bacteria carrying antibiotic resistance genes were also found in carrots (organic and non-organic) and salad vegetables. Thus, uncooked vegetables are another potential source of highly resistant opportunistic pathogens. 77 In a French survey on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 399 types of organic and conventional fruits and vegetable, irrespective of their modes of production, 13% carried bacteria producing extended-spectrum b-lactamases; hence, both organic and conventional fruits, as well as vegetables, may constitute significant sources of resistant bacteria and resistance genes. 78 While still rare, carbapenemase-producing bacteria have been reported in food-producing animals and their environment. E. coli producing VIM-1 carbapenemase was isolated in a pig farm, 79 and Salmonella enterica subsp. Enterica producing VIM-1 carbapenemase was isolated from livestock farms in Germany. 80 Nine of the 50 cattle sampled in France carried the carbapenemase-producing A. lwoffii bla OXA-23 gene. 81 The identification of a bla NDM-1 -carrying strain of A. lwoffii in swab samples from chickens collected from 15 animal farms and one slaughterhouse in eastern China revealed the potential of bla NDM-1 transmission from animals to human. 82 A survey of gramnegative bacteria from pigs, chickens and ducks was conducted in southern China (Guangdong province) from November 2011 to May 2012. Of the 1293 samples collected from five commercial pig farms, three commercial chicken farms and one duck farm, one single A. baumannii isolate from a lung sample of a pig with pneumonia and sepsis was positive for bla NDM-1 . 83 Although there are anecdotal reports, carbapenemases are not routinely tested for in bacterial isolates from non-human sources because many veterinary laboratories have not currently adopted methods that recommend screening for CPE. In Hong Kong, targeted testing of 4766 fecal E. coli isolates from