Biomedical Research

Increasing prevalence of multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria in humans is a major concern for public health. The widespread use of antimicrobial agents in plant production, animals and food production has created a reservoir of resistant bacteria with resistance genes that can be transmitted to humans through foodborne route. Hence, the priority of this study was to isolate and characterize multi-antibiotic resistant bacteria from retail sushi in Kampar. Twenty sushi samples consisting of egg, shrimp, cucumber, raw salmon, and fish roe were sampled. A total of 22 bacteria colonies were isolated on nutrient agar supplemented with ampicillin. Gram staining, biochemical tests and Kirby-Bauer antibiotic susceptibility tests were carried out to investigate characteristics of bacterial isolates. From the 22 bacterial isolates, 45% (10/22) were found to be multi-antibiotic resistant. All bacterial isolates were then cultured overnight with ampicillin-supplemented nutrient broth and total DNA was extracted from each using the rapid boil method. The extracted DNA was used as a template for PCR amplification of β-lactamase gene using blaSHV and blaTEM specific primers. Surprisingly, 9% (2/22) of the multi-antibiotic isolates were tested positive for blaSHV gene, while none carried blaTEM gene. The bacteria harboring blaSHV was identified to be Raoultella ornithinolytica through API 20E test. The presence of β-lactamase gene blaSHV in the bacteria isolates from sushi may be a source of transmission of antibiotic resistance traits in human via the food chain.

Author(s): Hui-Ting Cheong, Wai-Yew Ho, Quok-Cheong Choo and Choy-Hoong Chew
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