Recent Emergence of Clonal Group O25b:K1:H4-B2-ST131 ibeA Strains among Escherichia coli Poultry Isolates, Including CTX-M-9-Producing Strains, and Comparison with Clinical Human Isolates

Abstract

To discern the possible spread of the Escherichia coli O25b:H4-ST131 clonal group in poultry and the zoonotic potential of avian strains, we made a retrospective search of our strain collection and compared the findings for those strains with the findings for current strains. Thus, we have characterized a collection of 19 avian O25b:H4-ST131 E. coli strains isolated from 1995 to 2010 which, interestingly, harbored the ibeA gene. Using this virulence gene as a criterion for selection, we compared those 19 avian strains with 33 human O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA -positive E. coli strains obtained from patients with extraintestinal infections (1993 to 2009). All 52 O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA -positive E. coli strains shared the fimH , kpsMII , malX , and usp genes but showed statistically significant differences in nine virulence factors, namely, papGIII , cdtB , sat , and kpsMII K5, which were associated with human strains, and iroN , kpsMII K1, cvaC , iss , and tsh , which were associated with strains of avian origin. The XbaI macrorestriction profiles of the 52 E. coli O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA -positive strains revealed 11 clusters (clusters I to XI) of >85% similarity, with four clusters including strains of human and avian origin. Cluster VII (90.9% similarity) grouped 10 strains (7 avian and 3 human strains) that mostly produced CTX-M-9 and that also shared the same virulence profile. Finally, we compared the macrorestriction profiles of the 12 CTX-M-9-producing O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA strains (7 avian and 5 human strains) identified among the 52 strains with those of 15 human O25b:H4-ST131 CTX-M-14-, CTX-M-15-, and CTX-M-32-producing strains that proved to be negative for ibeA and showed that they clearly differed in the level of similarity from the CTX-M-9-producing strains. In conclusion, E. coli clonal group O25b:H4-ST131 ibeA has recently emerged among avian isolates with the new acquisition of the K1 capsule antigen and includes CTX-M-9-producing strains. This clonal group represents a real zoonotic risk that has crossed the barrier between human and avian hosts.