The presence of colistin resistance gene mcr-1 and -3 in ESBL producing Escherichia coli isolated from food in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

• Published in: FEMS microbiology letters Vol. 365; no. 11; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Yamaguchi, Takahiro, Kawahara, Ryuji, Harada, Kazuo, Teruya, Shihono, Nakayama, Tatsuya, Motooka, Daisuke, Nakamura, Shota, Nguyen, Phuc Do, Kumeda, Yuko, Van Dang, Chinh, Hirata, Kazumasa, Yamamoto, Yoshimasa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01-06-2018
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bacterial diseases; Colistin; E coli; Escherichia coli; Food contamination; Genetic aspects; Gram-negative bacteria; Horizontal transfer; Insertion; Meat; Microbiology; Multidrug resistance; Plasmids; Pork; Seafood; Sequence analysis; Strains (organisms); Vietnam
• ISSN: 1574-6968; 0378-1097; 1574-6968
• DOI: 10.1093/femsle/fny100

Colistin is indicated for the treatment of multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacterial infections. However, the spread of colistin-resistant bacteria harbouring an mcr gene has become a serious concern. This study investigated local foods in Vietnam for contamination with colistin-resistant bacteria. A total of 261 extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)- and AmpC-producing Escherichia coli isolates from 330 meat and seafood products were analysed for colistin susceptibility and the presence of mcr genes. Approximately, 24% (62/261) of ESBL- or AmpC-producing E. coli isolates showed colistin resistance; 97% (60/62) of colistin-resistant isolates harboured mcr-1, whereas 3% (2/62) harboured mcr-3. As the result of plasmid analysis of two strains, both plasmids harbouring mcr-3 revealed that plasmid replicon type was IncFII. Sequencing analysis indicated that an insertion sequence was present near mcr-3, suggesting that IncFII plasmids harbouring mcr-3 could be transferred to other bacterial species by horizontal transfer of the plasmid or transfer with some insertion sequence. In conclusion, ESBL-producing E. coli and AmpC-producing E. coli have acquired colistin resistance because 24% of such isolates show colistin resistance and 3% of the colistin-resistant strains harbour mcr-3. We reported the present of the mcr-3-carrying ESBL-producing E. coli isolated from pork in Vietnam.