{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T06:07:31Z","timestamp":1789020451526,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788998400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing\n                    <jats:italic>Escherichia coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    in food-producing animals represents a priority public health concern because of its capacity for zoonotic transmission through the food chain and frequent co-carriage of multidrug resistance (MDR) determinants. Surveillance in sub-Saharan Africa remains disproportionately limited, and no published data characterize ESBL prevalence or resistance gene profiles in slaughter animals in Malawi. This study investigated the prevalence of\n                    <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    harboring ESBL-associated resistance genes (\n                    <jats:italic>blaCTX-M<\/jats:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <jats:italic>blaSHV<\/jats:italic>\n                    ) and characterized antimicrobial resistance and MDR profiles in pigs and cattle slaughtered at urban abattoirs in Lilongwe District, Malawi. Rectal swabs were collected from 50 pigs and 50 cattle (\n                    <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f100) at four urban abattoirs. Following exclusion of six samples with no bacterial growth, 94 confirmed isolates were analyzed.\n                    <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    was identified by MALDI-TOF MS. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion (CLSI) against gentamicin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, cefotaxime, and tetracycline.\n                    <jats:italic>blaCTX-M<\/jats:italic>\n                    and\n                    <jats:italic>blaSHV<\/jats:italic>\n                    genes were detected by conventional PCR. Of 94 confirmed\n                    <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    isolates (48 pig, 46 cattle), pig isolates showed significantly higher resistance to gentamicin (50.0% vs. 15.2%;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.0008) and tetracycline (85.4% vs. 56.5%;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.004). Chloramphenicol resistance was high in both species (77.1% pigs; 63.0% cattle).\n                    <jats:italic>blaCTX-M<\/jats:italic>\n                    was detected in 12.5% of pig and 21.7% of cattle isolates;\n                    <jats:italic>blaSHV<\/jats:italic>\n                    in 20.8 and 6.5%, respectively (all\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f&amp;gt;\u202f0.05). MDR was significantly more prevalent in pig isolates (70.8%, 34\/48) than in cattle isolates (41.3%, 19\/46; crude OR\u202f=\u202f3.40, 95% CI 1.35\u20138.90;\n                    <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                    \u202f=\u202f0.004). Pigs had a mean resistance count of 3.17 antibiotic classes per isolate compared with 2.26 in cattle.\n                    <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    harboring targeted ESBL-associated genes circulates in both species at urban abattoirs in Lilongwe District, with pig isolates carrying a significantly higher MDR burden. These results provide an initial baseline for monitoring\n                    <jats:italic>E. coli<\/jats:italic>\n                    harboring targeted ESBL-associated genes at the livestock-food chain interface in Malawi. While stewardship practices were not directly assessed, the findings raise important implications for species-stratified antibiotic stewardship and highlight the value of systematic antimicrobial resistance monitoring within a One Health framework.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2026.1886903","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T05:33:24Z","timestamp":1789018404000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Prevalence of ESBL-associated resistance genes and antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli from pigs and cattle slaughtered at urban abattoirs in Lilongwe District, Malawi"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Charles","family":"Nkhoma","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Animal Health and Livestock Development, Central Veterinary Laboratory","place":["Lilongwe, Malawi"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naomi","family":"Chikwana","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Basic Sciences, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)","place":["Lilongwe, Malawi"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Precious Innocent","family":"Mastala","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona","place":["Tucson, AZ, United States"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Thoko","family":"Kapalamula","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, LUANAR","place":["Lilongwe, Malawi"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"629","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)02724-0","article-title":"Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis","volume":"399","author":"Murray","year":"2022","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1199","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(24)01867-1","article-title":"Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance 1990\u20132021: a systematic analysis with forecasts to 2050","volume":"404","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics13030259","article-title":"Detection of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae from diseased broiler chickens in Lusaka District, 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