Prevalence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae in raw vegetables.
To determine whether extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) are present in retail raw vegetables in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, we collected 119 samples of 15 different types of vegetables from various sources. After culture, strain identification and susceptibility testing, ESBL-encoding genes were characterised by a microarray. Four of the 15 vegetable types were contaminated with ESBL-E. Seven samples (6 %) yielded ESBL-E. Three bla CTX-M-15, one bla CTX-M-1, two genes of the CTX-M-9 group and one SHV ESBL-encoding gene were found. The ESBL genes were similar to what is found in enterobacterial strains from human origin. Therefore, raw vegetables might be a source of resistance genes for the enterobacterial strains found in humans.
Department of Medical Microbiology and Infection Control, VU University Medical Center, P.O. Box 7057, 1007 MB, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, e.reuland@vumc.nl.
E A
EA
Reuland
N
N
Al Naiemi
S A
SA
Raadsen
P H M
PH
Savelkoul
J A J W
JA
Kluytmans
C M J E
CM
Vandenbroucke-Grauls
D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D046228:Microarray Analysis; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009426:Netherlands; D015995:Prevalence; D017385:Sequence Homology; D014675:Vegetables / Q000382:microbiology*; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D001618:beta-Lactamases