Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10553/77022
Title: Escherichia coli as commensal and pathogenic bacteria among food-producing animals: Health implications of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production
Authors: Ramos, Sónia
Silva, Vanessa
de Lurdes Enes Dapkevicius, Maria
Caniça, Manuela
Tejedor Junco, María Teresa 
Igrejas, Gilberto
Poeta, Patrícia
UNESCO Clasification: 32 Ciencias médicas
320103 Microbiología clínica
Keywords: Antimicrobial Resistance
Esbl
Escherichia Coli
Food-Producing Animals
Issue Date: 2020
Journal: Animals 
Abstract: Escherichia coli are facultative, anaerobic Gram-negative rods with many facets. Within resistant bacterial populations, they play an important ecological role and can be used as a bioindicator of antimicrobial resistance. All animal species used for food production, as well as humans, carry E. coli in their intestinal tracts; plus, the genetic flexibility and adaptability of this bacteria to constantly changing environments allows it to acquire a great number of antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. Thus, the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in these commensal bacteria (or others, such as enterococci) can be a good indicator for the selective pressure caused by the use of antimicrobial agents, providing an early warning of the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in pathogens. As many as 90% of E. coli strains are commensals inhabiting the intestinal tracts of humans and warm-blooded animals. As a commensal, it lives in a mutually beneficial association with its hosts and rarely causes diseases. However, E. coli also remains as one of the most frequent causes of several common bacterial infections in humans and animals. In humans, it is the prominent cause of enteritis, community- and hospital-acquired urinary tract infection (UTI), septicemia, postsurgical peritonitis, and other clinical infections, such as neonatal meningitis, while, in farm animals, it is more prominently associated with diarrhea. On a global scale, E. coli can be considered the most important human pathogen, causing severe infection along with other major bacterial foodborne agents, such as Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter. Thus, the importance of resistance in E. coli, typically considered a benign commensal, should not be underestimated.
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10553/77022
ISSN: 2076-2615
DOI: 10.3390/ani10122239
Source: Animals [EISSN 2076-2615], v. 10 (12), p. 1-15, (Diciembre 2020)
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