Resistance to metal ions and antibiotics in Escherichia coli isolated from foodstuffs.
Of 39 strains of Escherichia coli isolated from foodstuffs, all were resistant to at least one of a panel of four metallic ions tested. The most common resistance (94.9%) was against cadmium, followed by arsenate (76.9%), silver (71.8%) and mercury (61.5%). Multiple resistance to three (35.9%) or four (38.5%) metals was seen more often than resistance to two (18%) or one (7.7%) metal only. The opposite trend was seen in antibiotic resistance; resistance to one (30%) or two (49%) antibiotics was more common than to three or more antibiotics (13%). Resistance to kanamycin correlated with resistance to silver and cadmium ions and resistance to ampicillin or cephalothin was, with one exception, associated with resistance to cadmium ions.
Department of Microbiology, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.
J S
JS
Grewal
R P
RP
Tiwari
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004351:Drug Resistance; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D008670:Metals / Q000494:pharmacology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D008670:Metals