Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases-Producing Escherichia coli in Retail Chicken Meat from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Potential of ZnO nanoparticles for multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli having CRISPR-Cas from poultry market in Lahore

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Apart from known factors such as irrational use of antibiotics and horizontal gene transfer, it is now reported that clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) are also associated with increased antimicrobial resistance. Hence, it is critical to explore alternatives to antibiotics to control economic losses. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine not only the association of CRISPR-Cas system with antibiotic resistance but also the potential of Zinc Oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) for avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) isolated from poultry market Lahore.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Samples (n = 100) were collected from live bird markets of Lahore, and isolates were confirmed as Escherichia coli (E. coli) using the Remel One fast kit, and APEC was identified using PCR. The antibiotic resistance pattern in APEC was determined using the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), followed by genotypic confirmation of antibiotic-resistant genes using the PCR. The CRISPR-Cas system was also identified in multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates, and its association with antibiotics was determined using qRT-PCR. The potential of ZnO-NPs was evaluated for multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates by MIC.

RESULTS

All isolates of APEC were resistant to nalidixic acid, whereas 95% were resistant to chloramphenicol and 89% were resistant to streptomycin. Nineteen MDR APEC were found in the present study and the CRISPR-Cas system was detected in all of these MDR isolates. In addition, an increased expression of CRISPR-related genes was observed in the standard strain and MDR isolates of APEC. ZnO-NPs inhibited the growth of resistant isolates.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings showed the presence of the CRISPR-Cas system in MDR strains of APEC, along with the potential of ZnO-NPs for a possible solution to proceed. This highlights the importance of regulating antimicrobial resistance in poultry to reduce potential health consequences.

Prevalence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia coli Isolates from Chicken Meat in Romania

The current study was conducted in order to analyze the prevalence of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in samples of chicken meat (100 chicken meat samples), as well as to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility of these isolates. A total of 30 samples were positive for E. coli among the collected chicken samples. Most isolates proved to be highly resistant to tetracycline (80%), ampicillin (80%), sulfamethoxazole (73.33%), chloramphenicol (70%) and nalidixic acid (60%). Strong resistance to ciprofloxacin (56.66%), trimethoprim (50%), cefotaxime (46.66%), ceftazidime (43.33%) and gentamicin (40%) was also observed. Notably, one E. coli strain also proved to be resistant to colistin. The antimicrobial resistance determinants detected among the E. coli isolates recovered in our study were consistent with their resistance phenotypes. Most of the isolates harbored the tetA (53.33%), tetB (46.66%), blaTEM (36.66%) and sul1 (26.66%) genes, but also aadA1 (23.33%), blaCTX (16.66%), blaOXA (16.66%), qnrA (16.66%) and aac (10%). In conclusion, to the best of our knowledge, this is among the first studies analyzing the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance of E. coli strains isolated from chicken meat in Romania and probably the first study reporting colistin resistance in E. coli isolates recovered from food sources in our country.

Detection and Phylogenetic Analysis of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL)-Genetic Determinants in Gram-Negative Fecal-Microbiota of Wild Birds and Chicken Originated at Trimmu Barrage

Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) give rise to resistance against penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics in multiple bacterial species. The present study was conducted to map genetic determinants and related attributes of ESBL-producing bacteria in three wild aquatic bird species and chickens at the "Trimmu Barrage" in district Jhang, Punjab province, Pakistan. To study the prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria, a total of 280 representative samples were collected from wild bird species; cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis), little egrets (Egretta garzetta) and common teals (Anas crecca) as well as from indigenous chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) originating from a local wet market. The isolates were confirmed as ESBL producers using a double disc synergy test (DDST) and bacterial species were identified using API-20E and 20NE strips. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect ESBL genetic determinants and for genus identification via 16S rRNA gene amplification. A phenotypic antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed for ESBL-producing isolates against 12 clinically relevant antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion susceptibility test. A phylogenetic tree was constructed for the sequence data obtained in this study and comparative sequence data obtained from GenBank. The overall prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria was 34.64% (97/280). The highest percentage (44.28%; 31/70) of ESBL-producing bacteria was recovered from chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), followed by little egrets (Egretta garzetta) (41.43%; 29/70), common teal (Anas crecca) (28.57%; 20/70) and cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) (24.28%; 17/70). Five different ESBL-producing bacteria were identified biochemically and confirmed via 16S rRNA gene sequencing, which included Escherichia coli (72; 74.23%), Enterobacter cloacae (11; 11.34%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (8; 8.25%), Salmonella enterica (4; 4.12%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (2; 2.06%). Based on PCR, the frequency of obtained ESBL genes in 97 isolates was blaCTX-M (51.55%), blaTEM (20.62%), blaOXA (6.18%) and blaSHV (2.06%). In addition, gene combinations blaCTX-M + blaTEM, blaTEM + blaOXA and blaCTX-M + blaSHV were also detected in 16.49%, 2.06% and 1.03% of isolates, respectively. The ESBL gene variation was significant (p = 0.02) in different bacterial species while non-significant in relation to different bird species (p = 0.85). Phylogenetic analysis of amino acid sequence data confirmed the existence of CTX-M-15 and TEM betalactamases. The average susceptibility of the antibiotics panel used was lowest for both Klebsiella pneumoniae (62.5% ± 24.42) and Salmonella enterica (62.5% ± 31.08) as compared to Enterobacter cloacae (65.90% ± 21.62), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (70.83% ± 33.42) and Escherichia coli (73.83% ± 26.19). This study provides insight into the role of aquatic wild birds as reservoirs of ESBL-producing bacteria at Trimmu Barrage, Punjab, Pakistan. Hence, active bio-surveillance and environment preservation actions are necessitated to curb antimicrobial resistance.

Occurrence of extended- spectrum β-lactamase harboring K. pneumoniae in various sources: a one health perspective

This study was designed to investigate the occurrence and dissemination of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) harboring Klebsiella pneumoniae in various ecological niches under the one health approach. A total of 793 samples were collected from animals, humans, and the environment. The findings of the study revealed the occurrence of K. pneumoniae as follows: animals (11.6%), humans (8.4%), and associated environments (7.0%), respectively. A high occurrence rate of ESBL genes was found in animals compared to human and environmental isolates. A total of 18 distinct sequence types (STs) and 12 clonal complexes of K. pneumoniae were observed. Overall, six STs of K. pneumoniae were identified in commercial chickens, and three were found in rural poultry. The majority of K. pneumoniae STs found in this study were positive for blaSHV, while the positivity of other ESBL-encoding genes combinations was different in different STs. The high occurrence rate of ESBL-harboring K. pneumoniae found in animals as compared to other sources is alarming and has the potential to be disseminated to the associated environment and community.

Characterization of Genomic Diversity among Carbapenem-Resistant Escherichia coli Clinical Isolates and Antibacterial Efficacy of Silver Nanoparticles from Pakistan

The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) is considered an important threat to public health resulting in resistance accumulation due to antibiotics misuse and selection pressure. This warrants periodic efforts to investigate and develop strategies for infection control. A total of 184 carbapenem-resistant clinical strains of E. coli were characterized for resistance pattern, resistance genes, plasmids, sequence types and in vitro efficacy of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). Carbapenem resistance was prevalent in E. coli isolated from female patients (64.7%), urine samples (40.8%) and surgical wards (32.1%). Polymyxin-B showed higher susceptibility. ESBLs and carbapenemases were produced in 179 and 119 isolates, respectively. Carbapenemase-encoding genes were observed among 104 strains with blaNDM-1 (45.1%), blaOXA-48 (27%), blaNDM-7 (3.8%), blaNDM-1/blaOXA-48 (15.4%), blaNDM-7/blaOXA-48 (2.9%), blaOXA-48/blaVIM (3.8%) and blaNDM-1/blaVIM (2%). ESBL resistance genes were detected in 147 isolates, namely blaSHV (24.9%), blaCTX-M (17.7%), blaTEM (4.8%), blaSHV/blaCTX-M (29.2%), blaSHV/blaTEM (15%) and blaCTX-M/blaTEM (8.8%). ST405 (44.4%) and ST131 (29.2%) were more frequent sequence types with ST101 (9.7%), ST10 (9.7%) and ST648 (7%). The replicon types IncFII, IncFIIK, IncA/C, IncN and IncL/M were detected. The combination of MEM/AgNPs remained effective against carbapenemase-positive E. coli. We reported genetically diverse E. coli strains coharboring carbapenemases/ESBLs from Pakistan. Moreover, this study highlights the enhanced antibacterial activity of MEM/AgNPs and may be used to manage bacterial infections.