Prevalence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli in foods and food-producing animals through the food chain: A worldwide systematic review and meta-analysis

LENCINA, FLORENCIA AYLEN; BERTONA, MATÍAS; STEGMAYER, MARÍA ANGELES; OLIVERO, CAROLINA RAQUEL; FRIZZO, LAUREANO SEBASTIÁN; ZIMMERMANN, JORGE ALBERTO; SIGNORINI, MARCELO LISANDRO; SOTO, LORENA PAOLA; ZBRUN, MARÍA VIRGINIA

Heliyon

eLSEVIER

Año: 2024 vol. 10

2405-8440

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to summarize the available scientificevidence on the prevalence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli strains isolated from foods andfood-producing animals, the mobile colistin-resistant genes involved, and the impact of theassociated variables. A systematic review was carried out in databases according to selectioncriteria and search strategies established a priori. Random-effect meta-analysis models were fittedto estimate the prevalence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli and to identify the factors associated with the outcome. In general, 4.79% (95% CI: 3.98%–5.76%) of the food and food-producinganimal samples harbored colistin-resistant Escherichia coli (total number of colistin-resistantEscherichia coli/total number of samples), while 5.70% (95% confidence interval: 4.97%–6.52%)of the E. coli strains isolated from food and food-producing animal samples harbored colistinresistance (total number of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli/total number of Escherichia coli isolated samples). The prevalence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli increased over time (P <0.001). On the other hand, 65.30% (95% confidence interval: 57.77%–72.14%) of colistinresistance was mediated by the mobile colistin resistance-1 gene. The mobile colistin resistance-1gene prevalence did not show increases over time (P = 0.640). According to the findings, otherallelic variants (mobile colistin resistance 2–10 genes) seem to have less impact on prevalence. Ahigher prevalence of colistin resistance was estimated in developing countries (P < 0.001),especially in samples (feces and intestinal content, meat, and viscera) derived from poultry andpigs (P < 0.001). The mobile colistin resistance-1 gene showed a global distribution with a highprevalence in most of the regions analyzed (>50%). The prevalence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli and the mobile colistin resistance-1 gene has a strong impact on the entire food chain. The