Background: To determine the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant genes in carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (CRECO). Methods: A total of 290 carbapenem-resistant bacteria were collected from tertiary care hospitals in Lahore (Pakistan). These isolates were confirmed by VITEK 2 and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight. The minimum inhibitory concentration was performed by VITEK 2. Sequence typing, resistant gene identification, DNA hybridization and replicate typing were also performed. Results: 33 out of 290 (11.3%) were CRECO and carried blaNDM; 69, 18 and 12% were NDM-1, NDM-5 and NDM-7, respectively, with 100% resistance to β-lactams and β-lactam inhibitors. ST405 and ST468 were mostly identified. NDM-ECO carried approximately 50-450 kb of plasmids and 16 (55%) were associated with IncA/C. Conclusion: NDM-1-producing E. coli are highly prevalent in clinical settings.
Keywords: Escherichia coli; MIC; MLST; NDM; plasmid profile.
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is a type of bacteria found in the gut of humans and animals that causes numerous illnesses such as infection of the blood or urinary tract, diarrhea and vomiting. New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM) is a protein produced by E. coli that is capable of breaking down several important antibiotics including penicillins, cephalosporins and carbapenems. E. coli that produce this protein are known as ‘resistant’, and therefore treatments against these infections are limited. This study looked at how common NDM was found among E. coli taken from hospitalized patients in Lahore, Pakistan, to understand the risks of resistant bacteria in clinical settings and found a high number of a high-risk E. coli.