Pathogenic bacteria contaminate beverages and make consumers to have diarrhoeal diseases. This study was carried out to assess the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. isolated from “zoom-koom” beverages and ice from open markets of Ouagadougou. One hundred samples of both “zoom-koom” and ice were analyzed using standard microbiological methods. Identification of serotypes of E. coli was completed using specific antisera. Strains were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility test using agar diffusion method. E. coli was isolated in 36% “zoom-koom” and 35% ice samples. Among the 71 E. coli strains of both samples, there was 16.8% enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), belonging to six serotypes: E. coli O26, E. coli O55, E. coli O86, E. coli O119, E. coli O126 and E. coli O128. Salmonella was also found in 1% “zoom-koom” and 2% ice samples. Antibiotic susceptibility revealed that E. coli isolates resist amoxicillin-clavulanate, ticarcillin, cephalothin, cefamandole, ceftriaxone, cefepime, aztreonam, gentamicin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin at different time. Meanwhile, Salmonella strains were sensitive to all tested antibiotics except tetracycline. The presence of EPEC and Salmonella spp. in the samples indicates that hygiene practices are being improved during processing to reduce the risk of having infection when they are consumed. Keys words: “Zoom-koom”; ice, Escherichia coli, enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), Salmonella, antibiotics, Burkina Faso.

Escherichia coli is one of the foodborne pathogens responsible for diarrhea with approximately 2 million deaths per year. The objective of this study was to determine the virulence genes of diarrheal E. coli isolated from local beverages and ice blocks. One hundred and twenty-one Escherichia coli strains isolated from local beverages and ice blocks were examined for virulence genes associated with diarrheagenic pathotypes. Twenty-one (17.3%) of the 121 E. coli strains carried the virulence genes. Nineteen (5.2%) of the isolates harbored the eae gene. The eae gene present in the EPEC was found in 6 strains isolated from “gnamakoudjii“, 6 strains isolated from “zoom-koom“, 6 strains isolated from ice blocks and 1 strain isolated from “bissap“. Shiga toxin genes, the stx2 gene present in STEC was observed in 2 strains isolated from “zoom-koom” and food ice, respectively. The stx1 and estla genes present in STEC-ETEC were detected only in one strain of E. coli isolated from “zoom-koom“. E. coli produces some virulence factors, which may be involved in human disease, constituting a public health concern.

Background: AST guide both patient management and national AMR surveillance. In Cameroon, laboratories interpret AST using either CLSI or EUCAST standard which may not always give the same conclusion for every case. This study compared EUCAST 2025 and CLSI 2025 interpretations of identical disk diffusion results at Buea Regional Hospital (BRH). Methods: This was a retrospective laboratory-based study where raw inhibition zone diameters of Enterobacterales, Staphylococcus and Pseudomonas isolates recorded in the BRH WHONET database (2023 – 2025) were interpreted with EUCAST 2025 and CLSI 2025 standards. Agreement was evaluated using Cohen’s kappa (κ), with κ < 0.61 considered poor agreement. Major interpretation switches (susceptible ↔ resistant) were enumerated, and the standard more associated with non-susceptible outcome was identified using the exact McNemar test. Results: A total of 1,198 isolates (748 Enterobacterales, 367 Staphylococcus and 83 Pseudomonas ) were included in the analysis. Poor agreement was observed for 4/12 (33.3%) antibiotics against Enterobacterales (lowest: ofloxacin, κ = 0.48), 5/10 (50%) against Staphylococcus (lowest: levofloxacin, κ = 0.08) and 5/7 (71.4%) against Pseudomonas (lowest: cefepime and imipenem, κ = 0.24). Major interpretation switches occurred for 3/12 antibiotics (Amox/clavulanic acid [1.1%], ceftriaxone [0.6%] and ofloxacin [15.6%]) against Enterobacterales, 6/10 against Staphylococcus (minocycline [21.1%], gentamicin [15.9%], rifampicin [14.4%], clindamycin [2.7%], tetracycline [4.5%], levofloxacin [13.7%]) and 2/7 among Pseudomonas (cefepime [20%], ciprofloxacin [3%]). Overall, EUCAST was significantly more likely (p < 0.001) to classify isolates as non-susceptible. Conclusion: Poor agreement between EUCAST 2025 and CLSI 2025 affected one third of the antibiotics tested for Enterobacterales, half for Staphylococcus and close to three quarters for Pseudomonas . Major interpretation switches were quite common for levofloxacin, ofloxacin, gentamicin, minocycline, rifampicin and cefepime. EUCAST was generally more likely to classify isolates as non-susceptible. A single national breakpoint standard is recommended in Cameroon so as to optimize the reliability of its surveillance data.

Collective catering can expose many consumers to foodborne and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria but is poorly monitored in sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed the microbiological quality of 159 ready-to-eat meals served in university, hospital-adjacent, and industrial canteens in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and the virulence genes and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus isolates. Genes were detected by PCR and susceptibility by disk diffusion. Under criteria adapted from those for cooked ready-to-eat dishes, 70.4% and 50.3% of meals were unsatisfactory for coagulase-positive staphylococci and E. coli, respectively (38.4% for staphylococci under UK Health Protection Agency guidelines). E. coli isolates carrying astA as the sole virulence gene (n = 50) were recovered from 44 meals (27.7%), and enterotoxigenic E. coli (estIa) from five meals; aggR and pic were not detected. The exfoliative toxin A gene eta was detected by PCR (not sequenced) in 73 S. aureus isolates from 51 meals; none carried mecA or sea–see. Multidrug resistance affected 76.0% of astA-positive E. coli and 73.9% of S. aureus isolates (68.0% and 65.2%, excluding presumptive phenotypes). In E. coli, bla_SHV (81.8%), bla_{CTX-M−1 group} (27.3%), and bla_TEM (25.5%) predominated. These findings indicate inadequate microbiological control and warrant AMR surveillance across the food chain.