Escherichia coli Producing CMY-2 β-Lactamase in Retail Chicken, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

The article focuses on a study which examined the prevalence of cephalosporin-resistent Escherichia coli among retail poultry products in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From February-April 2011, 104 raw ground meat products from three local grocery stores served as samples. The types of meat items purchased for the sampling process include chicken, turkey, lamb, pork and beef. The disk diffusion method was employed in this study to determine antimicrobial drug susceptibility. Results of the study showed that cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli has an 8.7% overall prevalence in the meat samples. It was isolated in 31.8% of chicken, 10.0% of turkey and 2.3% of pork samples. CMY-2 β-lactamase was found in all isolates.