If you have ever chickened out of eating chicken, your unease may not have been unreasonable.
Osaka Metropolitan University researchers have detected alarming rates of Escherichia albertii, an emerging foodborne pathogen, in retail chicken meat in Bangladesh. Their findings show extensive contamination and significant antimicrobial resistance, underscoring the potential risks to public health.
E. albertii is a less known but probably not less dangerous relative of E. coli. First described in Bangladesh in 2003, this bacterium causes gastrointestinal illnesses, including diarrhea, vomiting and fever. In Japan, E. albertii has been linked to multiple mass food poisoning outbreaks affecting over 100 people at a time. Despite its medical significance, however, this bacterium is often misidentified and not wholly understood.
"While undercooked chicken has been suspected as a transmission route, much remains unknown about the sources and spread of E. albertii, especially in developing countries," said Atsushi Hinenoya, an associate professor at Osaka Metropolitan University's Graduate School of Veterinary Science and lead author of the study.
Tracking this evasive pathogen back to its original source, the researchers collected samples from 17 poultry retail shops across four districts (upazilas) in Bangladesh. They tested chicken meat, internal organs, cloacal swabs, worker hand swabs and processing utensils for contamination and antimicrobial resistance.
Their PCR analysis revealed striking contamination rates: E. albertii was present in 63.9% of chicken meat samples and 71.4% of cloacal swabs. It was also found on human hands (45.5%), processing blades (10%) and bleeding cones (13.3%). Genetic similarities among isolates from the same shop from meat, cloacal swabs and worker hands suggest cross-contamination during processing.
"Alarmingly, 94.4% of E. albertii isolates exhibited resistance to at least one antibiotic, and 50% were multidrug-resistant, showing resistance to critical drugs such as tetracycline, ampicillin, gentamicin, kanamycin, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin," Hinenoya said.
Whole genome sequencing further confirmed the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes and virulence factors, which contribute to the pathogen's ability to cause disease.
"Our study highlights the urgent need for better hygiene measures in poultry processing, stricter antibiotic regulations, and enhanced monitoring to prevent foodborne infections," Hinenoya said.
Addressing this potential public health risk, the researchers plan to investigate human infections, compare bacterial strains from poultry and patients, and map contamination pathways.
"With the global movement of food and people, tackling E. albertii requires international collaboration," Hinenoya said. "We aim to expand molecular epidemiology studies and intervention strategies in Bangladesh to curb its spread."
The study was published in the International Journal of Food Microbiology.
