Whole Genome Sequencing Detects Minimal Clustering Among Escherichia coli Sequence Type 131-H30 Isolates Collected From United States Children’s Hospitals

Abstract

We applied whole genome sequencing to identify putative transmission clusters among clinical multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli sequence type 131-H30 isolates from 4 United States children’s hospitals. Of 126 isolates, 17 were involved in 8 putative transmission clusters; 4 clusters showed evidence of healthcare-associated epidemiologic linkages. Geographic clustering analyses showed weak geographic clustering.