Antimicrobial resistance profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from clinical and environmental samples: findings and implications

Background The overuse and misuse of antimicrobials has worsened the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) globally. This study investigated the AMR profiles of Escherichia coli isolated from clinical and environmental samples in Lusaka, Zambia.Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted from February 2023 to June 2023 using 450 samples. VITEK (R) 2 Compact was used to identify E. coli and perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Data analysis was done using WHONET 2022 and SPSS version 25.0.Results Of the 450 samples, 66.7% (n = 300) were clinical samples, whereas 33.3% (n = 150) were environmental samples. Overall, 47.8% (n = 215) (37.8% clinical and 10% environmental) tested positive for E. coli. Of the 215 E. coli isolates, 66.5% were MDR and 42.8% were ESBL-producers. Most isolates were resistant to ampicillin (81.4%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (70.7%), ciprofloxacin (67.9%), levofloxacin (64.6%), ceftriaxone (62.3%) and cefuroxime (62%). Intriguingly, E. coli isolates were highly susceptible to amikacin (100%), imipenem (99.5%), nitrofurantoin (89.3%), ceftolozane/tazobactam (82%) and gentamicin (72.1%).Conclusions This study found a high resistance of E. coli to some antibiotics that are commonly used in humans. The isolation of MDR and ESBL-producing E. coli is a public health concern and requires urgent action. Therefore, there is a need to instigate and strengthen interventional strategies including antimicrobial stewardship programmes to combat AMR in Zambia.