Emergence and dissemination of epidemic-causing OXA-244 carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli ST38 through hospital sewage in Norway, 2020-2022

Abstract

Background: Population-based sewage surveillance has emerged as a promising approach for studying the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in pathogens.

Aim: To determine the temporal prevalence of cefotaxime-resistant Escherichia coli in sewage from five sewage treatment plants located in Bergen city, to determine whether ESBL- and carbapenemase-producing E. coli are consistently disseminated in the receiving environment through sewage.

Method: A total of 569 cefotaxime-resistant E. coli were isolated over a period of 19 months (August 2020 to February 2022) using ECC CHROMagar™ plates from 82 samples, antibiotic sensitivity profiles were determined, using Sensititre™ plates. The draft genome sequences were determined, using Illumina MiSeq-based sequencing. Complete genome sequences were determined, using Oxford Nanopore-based sequencing.

Findings: All 569 strains obtained from influent (N=461) and effluent (N=108) were multi-drug resistant. Most of the sequenced strains (52 of 61) carried bla_CTX-M-15 (38.5%) and bla_CTX-M-27 (34.6%). The most prevalent sequence types (STs) for ESBL-carrying strains were ST131 (32.8%) and ST38 (21.3%). All CTX-M-27-carrying ST131 strains belonged to clade A or C1, while CTX-M-15-harbouring strains were present in all the clades. Five OXA-244-producing ST38 strains, genetically similar to epidemic-causing strains from Western Norway, France and the Netherlands, were isolated only from raw and treated sewage of the treatment plant receiving hospital sewage.

Conclusion: This is the first study showing persistent dissemination of OXA-244-producing ST38 clones through sewage in Norway, demonstrating that hospital sewage is the likely source of OXA-244-producing ST38 clones reaching the receiving environment.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance genes; Escherichia coli; OXA-244; ST38; Sewage-based surveillance.