Aim: We aimed to determine the prevalence and drug resistance patterns of ESBL producing Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli strain O157:H7 (EHEC O157:H7) isolated from cattle and humans in Moshi, northern Tanzania.

Methods: A comparative cross sectional study was carried out to enroll 200 cattle recto-fecalspecimens and 107 human stool specimens in Moshi, northern Tanzania. A convenient sampling method was used to enroll human patients with diarrhea or abdominal complaints and rectal fecal specimens from cattle upon consenting a patient, guardian or owner of the cattle. Bacterial isolation, identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed based on the standard operating procedures (SOPs). The EHEC O157:H7 were phenotypically confirmed by using MacConkey agar with sorbitol (SMCA) whereas, the suspected ESBL producing strains of EHEC O157:H7 were further confirmed by using the Minimum inhibitory concentration (M. I. C.) Test Strip.

Results: About 20 (10.0%) out of 200 recto-fecal specimens collected from cattle were positively confirmed ESBL producing EHEC O157:H7, whereas 10 (9.30%) out of 107 human specimens were confirmed ESBL producing EHEC O157:H7 (Χ 2 =0.961, P= 0.002). Twelve (6.0%) of the cattle specimens were ESBL producing non-EHEC O157:H7 whereas 21 (19.6%) of human specimens confirmed as ESBL producing non-EHEC O157:H7. A high number of non-EHEC O157:H7 isolates was found in male 13 (20.3%) than in females 8(18.6%) (OR= 1.506, 95% CI= 0.534-4.236). Both cattle (n=20) and human (n=10) isolates revealed high (100%) resistance against Trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole and Tetracycline.

Conclusion: Our study revealed that ESBL producing E. coli is common among human patients as well as cattle in Moshi, Tanzania. The study is supporting ‘ONE HEALTH’ approach which ensure a sustainable control and reduction of transmission and spread of drug resistant bacteria in humans and cattle.