Indian Journal of Veterinary Research (The)

The study reports multidrug-resistant diarrheagenic E. coli isolated from 50 randomly collected beef samples from various retail shops in and around Puducherry. E. coli was detected in 23 samples and these isolates were confirmed by PCR targeting the uidA gene. Molecular detection of three DEC (Diarrheagenic E. coli) pathotypes (EHEC, EPEC, ETEC) was carried based on the virulence markers viz., stx1, stx2, hlyA, eae, bfp, lt, and stll genes. Out of the 23 isolates, 12 (52%) isolates harboured at least one virulence gene and three of them were EHEC-EPEC hybrids (Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli, Enteropathogenic E. coli). Antimicrobial-resistance genes such as bla_CTX-M, bla_TEM, bla_SHV, qnrS were detected in 65% (15), 43% (10), 13% (3), and 78% (18) isolates respectively. Heat map analysis revealed similarities in virulence gene profiles and antimicrobial gene distribution among isolates obtained from among isolates from different sampling locations. The detection of such multidrug-resistant DEC pathotypes warrants one-health strategy to prevent the emergence and spread of hypervirulent and anti-microbial resistant E. coli strains in meat and the environment.