Islamabad: Raw milk and poultry meat sold in Karachi’s retail markets are carrying drug-resistant bacteria, including multidrug-resistant strains of Escherichia coli, raising concerns about food safety and the silent spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through Pakistan’s largely informal food supply chains, researchers told a national conference on foodborne AMR on Tuesday.
The findings were presented at the National Conference on Foodborne Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) held in Islamabad on February 16–17, jointly organised with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety of the Republic of Korea and Pakistani authorities.
The conference brought together experts from human health, animal health, food safety and environmental sectors under the One Health framework.
Presenting results from a pilot surveillance study in Karachi, Dr SM Ghufran Saeed of the University of Karachi said E. coli was widely detected in raw milk and poultry meat collected from urban retail markets, with several isolates showing resistance to commonly used antibiotics. The study analysed 100 samples (50 raw milk and 50 poultry meat) collected between October 2025 and January 2026 using standard microbiological methods.
According to the findings, multidrug-resistant E. coli were detected in both food categories, with a higher resistance burden observed in milk samples than in poultry meat. Researchers reported high levels of resistance to commonly used antibiotics, including Augmentin in milk isolates, while notable resistance was also observed to ceftriaxone and aztreonam.
Some antibiotic combinations, including cefoperazone with sulbactam and piperacillin with tazobactam, remained relatively more effective against the isolates tested.
Dr Ghufran Saeed said the results highlight how raw milk and poultry meat can act as reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, allowing resistant organisms to move from animals to humans through the food chain.
He warned that widespread use of antibiotics in livestock, particularly for disease prevention and growth promotion, combined with weak hygiene practices during slaughter, processing and retail, creates conditions that allow resistant bacteria to persist and spread.
Pakistan’s food system came under scrutiny during the conference, with experts warning that although the country is among the world’s largest producers of milk and a major poultry producer, most milk is consumed raw through informal channels and poultry retailing remains largely unregulated, with live bird markets and on-site slaughter common in urban centres. These practices, they said, increase the risk of contamination and make effective surveillance difficult.
Speakers also placed Pakistan’s situation within the broader global AMR context. According to international estimates cited at the conference, bacterial infections linked to antimicrobial resistance are among the leading causes of death worldwide, with millions of deaths associated with drug-resistant infections each year.
The World Health Organization has identified AMR as one of the most serious public health threats of the 21st century, undermining routine medical treatment, surgery and infection control.
Conference sessions covered AMR in human health, animal health and the environment, with experts calling for integrated surveillance of antimicrobial use and resistance across the food chain, from farms to markets. FAO officials highlighted the need for national AMR surveillance in food systems and better alignment with global monitoring frameworks.
Participants said Pakistan’s existing AMR strategies remain heavily focused on hospitals and clinical settings, while foodborne transmission pathways receive comparatively less attention. They called for routine microbiological monitoring of milk, meat and other high-risk foods, regular inspection and certification of dairy and poultry supply chains, and stronger coordination between provincial food authorities, veterinary services and health departments.
Researchers also stressed the need for farmer and vendor education on antibiotic stewardship, including restricting non-therapeutic use of antimicrobials in livestock, enforcing withdrawal periods and improving farm hygiene. Public awareness campaigns on boiling or pasteurising milk, safe handling of raw meat and thorough cooking of poultry were also recommended as immediate risk-reduction measures.
Officials said the Karachi pilot study would help inform future, larger-scale surveillance of foodborne AMR in Pakistan and could serve as a baseline for tracking trends. The conference concluded with calls for the government to strengthen laboratory capacity, invest in routine AMR monitoring in the food sector and adopt a coordinated One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health.
Health experts warned that without systematic surveillance and regulation of antibiotic use in food production, drug-resistant bacteria will continue to move silently from farms and markets to households, adding to Pakistan’s growing burden of hard-to-treat infections.