This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Carbapenemase-producing organism found in squid at Canadian grocery store
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Researchers have discovered a carbapenemase-producing organism, which generates carbapenem antibiotic-resistant enzymes, in a squid for sale at a grocery store in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, according to recent findings.
The discovery, which marks the first detection of these organisms in food sold in the United States or Canada, is “alarming” and places the general public at risk for infection, according to a letter written by University of Saskatchewan researchers and published in Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Before the discovery of the squid, global reports of carbapenemase-producing organisms from environmental and animal sources, including livestock, have been on the increase. In France, researchers recently found clinical isolates of Salmonella enterica serotype Kentucky in patients who had traveled to Africa and the Middle East. These isolates produce the carbapenemases VIM-2 and OXA-48. This finding suggested foodborne transmission of carpabenemase producers.
The squid, which was purchased in January as part of a drug-resistance surveillance pilot study, was found upon routine testing to harbor a carbapenemase-producing organism. The organism was found to have 95.5% sequence identity to Pseudomonas fluorescens.
Although the organism did not demonstrate extensive resistance, it showed resistance to all beta-lactam drugs tested, including ertapenem. The organism was confirmed as containing VIM-2 carbapenemase using PCR amplification. The squid is thought to have originated from South Korea.
According to the researchers, the discovery of this organism in a food source means the general public — rather than a select group of individuals — is now at risk for antibiotic-resistant infections.
“Specifically, it expands the previously known risks of travel to certain destinations, previous use of antibiotics, or prior hospitalization, to the more widespread risk of consumption of contaminated food,” the researchers wrote. “Finding a carbapenemase-producing organism in food in North America creates an urgent need to expand tracking and monitoring of these organisms.”
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts