Isolation and Molecular Characterization of Nalidixic Acid-Resistant Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli from Retail Chicken Products
Open Access
- 1 July 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
- Vol. 47 (7), 2161-2168
- https://doi.org/10.1128/aac.47.7.2161-2168.2003
Abstract
Fluoroquinolone use in poultry production may select for resistant Escherichia coli that can be transmitted to humans. To define the prevalence and virulence potential of poultry-associated, quinolone-resistant E. coli in the United States, 169 retail chicken products from the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (1999 to 2000) were screened for nalidixic acid (Nal)-resistant E. coli . Sixty-two (37%) products yielded Nal-resistant E. coli . From 55 products that yielded both Nal-resistant and susceptible E. coli , two isolates (one resistant, one susceptible) per sample were further characterized. Twenty-three (21%) of the 110 E. coli isolates (13 resistant, 10 susceptible) satisfied criteria for extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), i.e., exhibited ≥2 of pap (P fimbriae), sfa/foc (S/F1C fimbriae), afa/dra (Dr binding adhesins), iutA (aerobactin receptor), and kpsMT II (group 2 capsule synthesis). Compared with other isolates, ExPEC isolates more often derived from virulence-associated E. coli phylogenetic groups B2 or D (74% versus 32%; P < 0.001) and exhibited more ExPEC-associated virulence markers (median, 10.0 versus 4.0; P < 0.001). In contrast, the Nal-resistant and -susceptible populations were indistinguishable according to all characteristics analyzed, including pulsed-field gel electrophoresis profiles. These findings indicate that Nal-resistant E. coli is prevalent in retail poultry products and that a substantial minority of such strains represent potential human pathogens. The similarity of the Nal-resistant and -susceptible populations suggests that they derive from the same source population, presumably the avian fecal flora, with Nal resistance emerging by spontaneous mutation as a result of fluoroquinolone exposure.Keywords
This publication has 38 references indexed in Scilit:
- Antimicrobial Use in Animal Feed — Time to StopThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2001
- Widespread Distribution of Urinary Tract Infections Caused by a Multidrug-ResistantEscherichia coliClonal GroupThe New England Journal of Medicine, 2001
- Rapid Emergence of Ciprofloxacin-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Containing Multiple Gentamicin Resistance-Associated Integrons, the NetherlandsEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2001
- Mechanisms Responsible for Cross-Resistance and Dichotomous Resistance among the QuinolonesClinical Infectious Diseases, 2001
- Where Have All the Case Reports Gone?Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2001
- Proposal for a New Inclusive Designation for Extraintestinal Pathogenic Isolates ofEscherichia coli:ExPECThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2000
- Activity and spectrum of 22 antimicrobial agents tested against urinary tract infection pathogens in hospitalized patients in Latin America: report from the second year of the SENTRY Antimicrobial Surveillance Program (1998)Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, 2000
- Extended Virulence Genotypes ofEscherichia coliStrains from Patients with Urosepsis in Relation to Phylogeny and Host CompromiseThe Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2000
- Quinolone-ResistantCampylobacter jejuniInfections in Minnesota, 1992–1998The New England Journal of Medicine, 1999
- The Colonization of the Human Gut by Antibiotic Resistant Escherichia coli from ChickensJournal of Applied Bacteriology, 1977