Fosfomycin Escherichia coli Resistance in Poultry Meat Associated with the Excessive use of Biocides During COVID-19

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance has become one of the major public health problems. Although antimicrobial resistance naturally develops over time, its prevalence has increased due to the use of antimicrobial agents in the health sector and other contexts. This paper focuses on the rise in fosfomycin resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from poultry meat, coinciding with the excessive use of biocides during the COVID-19 outbreak in Algeria. A total of 134 E. coli isolates were identified from poultry meat samples purchased from the same butcher’s shops before and after the emergence of the COVID-19 outbreak. Univariate analyses were conducted using the ANOVA test for continuous variables and the chi-squared test for categorical variables. Odds ratios (OR) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) were utilized for statistically significant risk factors. Multivariable analysis was performed with binary logistic regression to detect an independent predictor. A P-value of 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Poultry meat purchased after the COVID-19 appearance was found to be associated with fosfomycin-resistant E. coli; fosfomycin-resistant E. coli isolates were more prevalent after COVID-19 (15.56 %) than before the COVID-19 outbreak (1.69 %). A significant difference in fosfomycin E. coli resistance was observed before and after the COVID-19 emergence (P = 0.009; OR = 10.68; 95 % CI 1.26–90.34). E. coli strains isolated from poultry meat are 10 times more likely to be fosfomycin resistant after COVID-19 than before the COVID-19 outbreak. It could be that the excessive use of biocides during the COVID-19 outbreak increased the risk of fosfomycin E. coli resistance in poultry meat.