Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Resistant Determinants among Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae from Beef Cattle in the North West Province, South Africa: A Critical Assessment of Their Possible Public Health Implications

Lungisile Tshitshi; Madira Coutlyne Manganyi; Peter Kotsoana Montso; Moses Mbewe; Collins Njie Ateba

doi:10.3390/antibiotics9110820

Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Resistant Determinants among Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae from Beef Cattle in the North West Province, South Africa: A Critical Assessment of Their Possible Public Health Implications

Antibiotics (Basel). 2020 Nov 17;9(11):820. doi: 10.3390/antibiotics9110820.

Authors

Lungisile Tshitshi^{1

2}, Madira Coutlyne Manganyi³, Peter Kotsoana Montso⁴, Moses Mbewe², Collins Njie Ateba^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Antimicrobial Resistance and Phage Biocontrol Research Group, Department of Microbiology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.
² Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Sciences, University of Mpumalanga, Private Bag X11283, Mbombela 1200, South Africa.
³ Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom 2520, South Africa.
⁴ Food Security and Safety Niche Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa.

Abstract

Carbapenems are considered to be the last resort antibiotics for the treatment of infections caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains. The purpose of this study was to assess antimicrobial resistance profile of Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) isolated from cattle faeces and determine the presence of carbapenemase and ESBL encoding genes. A total of 233 faecal samples were collected from cattle and analysed for the presence of CRE. The CRE isolates revealed resistance phenotypes against imipenem (42%), ertapenem (35%), doripenem (30%), meropenem (28%), cefotaxime, (59.6%) aztreonam (54.3%) and cefuroxime (47.7%). Multidrug resistance phenotypes ranged from 1.4 to 27% while multi antibiotic resistance (MAR) index value ranged from 0.23 to 0.69, with an average of 0.40. Escherichia coli (E. coli), Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Proteus mirabilis (P. mirabilis) and Salmonella (34.4, 43.7, 1.3 and 4.6%, respectively) were the most frequented detected species through genus specific PCR analysis. Detection of genes encoding carbapenemase ranged from 3.3% to 35% (blaKPC, blaNDM, blaGES, blaOXA-48, blaVIM and blaOXA-23). Furthermore, CRE isolates harboured ESBL genes (blaSHV (33.1%), blaTEM (22.5%), blaCTX-M (20.5%) and blaOXA (11.3%)). In conclusion, these findings indicate that cattle harbour CRE carrying ESBL determinants and thus, proper hygiene measures must be enforced to mitigate the spread of CRE strains to food products.

Keywords: ESBL; Enterobacteriaceae; carbapenemase; cattle; multidrug resistance; resistance genes.