Repeated Isolation of Extended-Spectrum-β-Lactamase-Positive Escherichia coli Sequence Types 648 and 131 from Community Wastewater Indicates that Sewage Systems Are Important Sources of Emerging Clones of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is an emerging problem globally. Resistant bacteria are found in human and animal microbiota, as well as in the environment. Wastewater receives bacteria from all these sources and thus can provide a measurement of abundance and diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria circulating in communities. In this study, water samples were collected from a wastewater pump station in a Norwegian suburban community over a period of 15 months. A total of 45 daily samples were cultured and analyzed for the presence of Escherichia coli. Eighty E. coli-like colonies were collected from each daily sample and then phenotyped and analyzed for antibiotic resistance using the PhenePlate-AREB system. During the sampling period, two unique E. coli phenotypes with resistance to cefotaxime and cefpodoxime indicating carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) were observed repeatedly. Whole-genome sequencing of 15 representative isolates from the two phenotypes identified these as two distinct clones belonging to the two globally spread E. coli multilocus sequence types (STs) ST131 and ST648 and carrying blaCTX-M-15. The number of ESBL-positive E. coli strains in the community wastewater pump station was 314 of 3,123 (10%) analyzed E. coli strains. Of the ESBL-positive isolates, 37% belonged to ST648, and 7% belonged to ST131. Repeated findings of CTX-M-15-positive ST648 and ST131 over time indicate that these STs are resident in the analyzed wastewater systems and/or circulate abundantly in the community.

Clinically Relevant Escherichia coli Isolates from Process Waters and Wastewater of Poultry and Pig Slaughterhouses in Germany

“…Furthermore, our results show that in-house WWTPs of poultry and pig slaughterhouses may also play a relevant role in disseminating E. coli with zoonotic potential into the environment, including surface waters. E. coli ST10, ST117, ST410, ST648 have already been detected in surface waters in different European countries such as the Netherlands [ 45 ], Norway [ 46 ] and Switzerland [ 47 ], but it has to be mentioned that the sources of this contamination may have had multiple origins.…”

<p>A Novel <em>bla</em>_CTX-M-65-Harboring IncHI2 Plasmid pE648CTX-M-65 Isolated from a Clinical Extensively-Drug-Resistant <em>Escherichia coli</em> ST648</p>

“…2 E. coli ST648 strain, a predominant multidrug-resistant clone observed worldwide in humans, companion animals, livestock, and wild birds, is frequently associated with various β-lactamases, including ESBLs, NDM and KPC. [8][9][10][11] So the epidemic multiresistant E. coli ST648 clone might raise a potential threat to human health. 2 The first clinical E. coli ST648 isolate with mcr-1 and bla CTX-M-15 located on different plasmids was cultured from the microbiota of diarrhea patients in China in 2016, which NDM-1 variants NDM-5 or NDM-7 were not found in it.…”

Country Income Is Only One of the Tiles: The Global Journey of Antimicrobial Resistance among Humans, Animals, and Environment

“…Acinetobacter comprised up to 29% of the 16S rRNA reads, and a strong correlation was found between the abundance of Acinetobacter and the OXA-58 carbapenemase gene [ 88 ]. Other experiences from India confirmed these data, and integrated plans to protect water should clearly be implemented soon [ 89 , 90 , 91 ].…”