Prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and virulence gene profile of Escherichia coli strains shared between food and other sources in Africa: A systematic review

Research (Published online: 07-10-2023)

2. Prevalence, antibiotic resistance, and virulence gene profile of Escherichia coli strains shared between food and other sources in Africa: A systematic review

Eustache C. Hounkpe, Philippe Sessou, Souaïbou Farougou, Georges Daube, Véronique Delcenserie, Paulin Azokpota, and Nicolas Korsak

Veterinary World, 16(10): 2016-2028

Eustache C. Hounkpe: Communicable Diseases Research Unit, Applied Biology Research Laboratory, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 P.O Box 2009 Cotonou, Benin; Department of Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, FARAH-Veterinary Public Health, University of Liege, Quartier Vallée 2, 10 Avenue of Cureghem, Sart-Tilman, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.

Philippe Sessou: Communicable Diseases Research Unit, Applied Biology Research Laboratory, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 P.O Box 2009 Cotonou, Benin.

Souaïbou Farougou: Communicable Diseases Research Unit, Applied Biology Research Laboratory, Polytechnic School of Abomey-Calavi, University of Abomey-Calavi, 01 P.O Box 2009 Cotonou, Benin.

Georges Daube: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, FARAH-Veterinary Public Health, University of Liege, Quartier Vallée 2, 10 Avenue of Cureghem, Sart-Tilman, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.

Véronique Delcenserie: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, FARAH-Veterinary Public Health, University of Liege, Quartier Vallée 2, 10 Avenue of Cureghem, Sart-Tilman, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.

Paulin Azokpota: School of Nutrition, Food Sciences, and Technology, Faculty of Agronomic Sciences, University of Abomey-Calavi, 03 P.O Box 2819, Cotonou, Benin.

Nicolas Korsak: Department of Food Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, FARAH-Veterinary Public Health, University of Liege, Quartier Vallée 2, 10 Avenue of Cureghem, Sart-Tilman, B-4000 Liege, Belgium.

Background and Aim: Foodborne diseases caused by Escherichia coli are prevalent globally. Treatment is challenging due to antibiotic resistance in bacteria, except for foodborne infections due to Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, for which treatment is symptomatic. Several studies have been conducted in Africa on antibiotic resistance of E. coli isolated from several sources. The prevalence and distribution of resistant pathogenic E. coli isolated from food, human, and animal sources and environmental samples and their virulence gene profiles were systematically reviewed.

Materials and Methods: Bibliographic searches were performed using four databases. Research articles published between 2000 and 2022 on antibiotic susceptibility and virulence gene profile of E. coli isolated from food and other sources were selected.

Results: In total, 64 articles were selected from 14 African countries: 45% of the studies were conducted on food, 34% on animal samples, 21% on human disease surveillance, and 13% on environmental samples. According to these studies, E. coli is resistant to ~50 antimicrobial agents, multidrug-resistant, and can transmit at least 37 types of virulence genes. Polymerase chain reaction was used to characterize E. coli and determine virulence genes.

Conclusion: A significant variation in epidemiological data was noticed within countries, authors, and sources (settings). These results can be used as an updated database for monitoring E. coli resistance in Africa. More studies using state-of-the-art equipment are needed to determine all resistance and virulence genes in pathogenic E. coli isolated in Africa.

Keywords: Africa, antibiotic resistance, Escherichia coli virulence genes, food, systematic review.