We compared extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli isolates from meat and fish, gut-colonized women, and infected patients in Cambodia. Nearly half of isolates from women were phylogenetically related to food-origin isolates; a subset had identical multilocus sequence types, extended-spectrum β-lactamase types, and antimicrobial resistance patterns. Eating sun-dried poultry may be an exposure route.
Keywords: Cambodia; ESBL; Escherichia coli; Southeast Asia; antibiotic resistance; antimicrobial resistance; bacteria; extended-spectrum β-lactamases; food safety; lower- and middle-income countries.