Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacter spp. in Retail Seafood Imported from Southeast Asia to Canada

To the Editor: Carbapenems, antimicrobial drugs of last resort, are recommended only for severe community- and healthcare-associated multidrug-resistant bacterial infections. In Canada, carbapenem-resistant infection rates in hospitals remained low (<0.25 cases/1,000 patient admissions) over 5 years’ (2009–2014) surveillance (1). Carbapenemase-producing bacteria have rarely been detected in the food chain in industrialized countries. However, carbapenemase genes were detected in bacteria isolated from produce in Switzerland (2) and seafood in Canada (3); implicated food items originated from Southeast Asia. We conducted targeted sampling to assess, using selective media, the occurrence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in imported seafood products sold in Canada.