ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. One Health
Antimicrobial Resistance in Gram-Negative Bacteria from Retail Meat in Pakistan: Prevalence and Public Health Implications
Provisionally accepted
Safia Arbab1
Hanif Ullah2,3
Weiwei Wang1
Anwar Shahzad4Abdullah A. Aseeri5Fuad M. Alzahrani6
Khalid Alzahrani5
Khalaf F Alsharif5
Jiyu Zhang1*- 1Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Lanzhou Institute of Husbandry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Lanzhou, China
- 2West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 3West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- 4Abbottabad International Medical Institute, Abbottabad, Pakistan
- 5King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia
- 6Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia
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Retail meat is a significant source of nutrition, but it can harbor antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, posing a substantial public health risk. This study investigated 123 retail meat samples in Sindh, Pakistan, including ground beef, chicken portions, beef burgers, and carcass swabs, to identify Gram-negative bacteria and assess their antimicrobial susceptibility. All samples yielded Gram-negative isolates, with Escherichia coli being the most prevalent (37.4%), followed by Klebsiella spp. (25.2%), Salmonella spp. (17.9%), Enterobacter spp. (13.8%), Pseudomonas spp. (2.4%), Citrobacter spp. (2.4%), and Aeromonas spp. (0.8%). Identification was confirmed by Gram staining, motility, endospore staining, and IMViC biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed high levels of resistance among the isolates. E. coli showed resistance to ampicillin (63%), amoxicillin-clavulanate (67%), and cefotaxime (76%), but lower resistance to cefepime (13%) and gentamicin (13%). Klebsiella spp. were resistant to ampicillin (55%) and amoxicillin-clavulanate (68%), with 16% resistance to cefepime. Salmonella spp. exhibited 73% and 86% resistance to ampicillin and amoxicillin-clavulanate, respectively. Enterobacter spp. were universally resistant to ampicillin (100%) and highly resistant to beta-lactams, though ciprofloxacin (12%) and gentamicin (18%) remained effective. Multidrug resistance was prevalent, with isolates showing resistance to 2–4 antibiotic classes. These findings highlight the high prevalence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria in retail meats in Sindh, Pakistan, underscoring the need for robust antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance to mitigate public health risks. A One Health approach is crucial for limiting the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria through the food chain.
Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, Biochemical Tests, Gram-Negative Bacteria, Public Health, Retail meat
Received: 01 Sep 2025; Accepted: 19 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Arbab, Ullah, Wang, Shahzad, Aseeri, Alzahrani, Alzahrani, Alsharif and Zhang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Jiyu Zhang, infzjy@sina.com
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