The occurrence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is an important public health issue. The aim of this study was the monitoring of resistant Escherichia coli in raw cow's milk with a focus on the detection of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains. In total, 263 samples of raw milk from 40 farms were collected and investigated in 2010 to 2013 in the Czech Republic. Detection of E. coli was performed and evaluated according to ISO 16649-2, and antibiotic resistance was screened by the disk diffusion method. The presence of E. coli was detected in 243 (92.4%) samples. In total, 270 isolates were obtained. Resistance to β-lactam (31.8%) and tetracycline (13.0%) antibiotics was detected most often and also multiresistant strains (5.5%) were observed. E. coli isolates found to be resistant to β-lactam, tetracycline, and quinolone antibiotics were assayed by PCR to detect selected genes encoding those resistance mechanisms. In isolates in which any bla genes were detected, a double-disk synergy test was performed. ESBL production was confirmed in 2 (0.7%) isolates. The genetic analysis identified the presence of the blaCTX-M gene and other resistance genes (tet(B) and qnrB). Both ESBL-positive isolates originated from the same farm and had an identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profile. The findings of our study indicate that milk can be a reservoir of bacteria carrying resistance genes with a potential for spreading through the food chain.

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