Antimicrobial resistance, virulence profile, and genetic analysis of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli isolated from Nile tilapia in fresh markets and supermarkets in Thailand

This study investigated the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in Nile tilapia from fresh markets and supermarkets. A total of samples (n = 828) were collected from Nile tilapia including fish flesh (n = 276), liver and kidney (n = 276), and intestine (n = 276). Overall prevalence of fecal coliforms (61.6%) and E. coli (53.0%) were observed. High prevalence of E. coli was found in the intestine (71.4%), followed by the liver and kidney (45.7%). The highest prevalence of resistance was commonly found against tetracycline (78.5%), ampicillin (72.8%), and sulfamethoxazole (45.6%) with resistance to only tetracycline (15.2%) as the most common antibiogram.