Virulence and antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from chicken meat, beef, and raw milk

Two hundred and thirty-five strains of E. coli were recovered from beef, chicken meat, and raw milk sold in butcher shops and markets in the town of Jijel, East Algeria. A PCR investigation revealed the predominance of bacterial strains with extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) genes (19.91%). Enteroaggregative (EAEC) and enteroinvasive (EIEC) bacteria were also detected. Strains from phylogenetic groups A and B1 were the most common; they accounted for 62.35% and 21.17% in chicken meat, 67.53% and 16.88% in raw milk and 64.38% and 25.97% in beef, respectively, followed by the strains from phylogenetic groups B2 and D. Moreover, E. coli from phylogenetic group D was more abundant in chicken than in beef or raw milk samples (P