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Environmental dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in rivers in Switzerland.
Journal article

Environmental dissemination of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in rivers in Switzerland.

  • Bleichenbacher S Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Stevens MJA Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Zurfluh K Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Perreten V Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, 3012, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Endimiani A Institute for Infectious Diseases, University of Bern, Friedbühlstrasse 51, 3001, Bern, Switzerland.
  • Stephan R Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
  • Nüesch-Inderbinen M Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland. Electronic address: magdalena.nueesch-inderbinen@uzh.ch.
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  • 2020-08-19
Published in:
  • Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987). - 2020
Antibiotic resistance
Aquatic environment
Carbapenems
Plasmids
Pollution
Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae
Ecosystem
Enterobacteriaceae
Rivers
Switzerland
English The aquatic environment takes on a key role in the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. This study assesses the occurrence of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) in freshwater samples from rivers, inland canals, and streams throughout Switzerland, and characterizes the isolated strains using phenotypic and NGS-based genotypic methods. CPE producing KPC-2 (n = 2), KPC-3 (n = 1), NDM-5 (n = 3), OXA-48 (n = 3), OXA-181 (n = 6), and VIM-1 (n = 2) were detected in 17/164 of the water samples. Seven Escherichia coli had sequence types (STs) that belonged to extra-intestinal pathogenic clonal lineages ST38, ST73, ST167, ST410, and ST648. The majority (16/17) of the carbapenemase genes were located on plasmids, including the widespread IncC (n = 1), IncFIIA (n = 1), and IncFIIB plasmids (n = 4), the epidemic IncL (n = 1) and IncX3 (n = 5) plasmids, a rare Col156 plasmid (n = 1), and the mosaic IncFIB, IncR, and IncQ plasmids (n = 3). Plasmids were composed of elements that were identical to those of resistance plasmids retrieved from clinical and veterinary isolates locally and worldwide. Our data show environmental dissemination of high-risk CPE clones in Switzerland. Epidemic and mosaic-like plasmids carrying clinically relevant carbapenemase genes are replicating and evolving pollutants of river ecosystems, representing a threat to public health and environmental integrity.
Language
  • English
Open access status
hybrid
Identifiers
Persistent URL
https://folia.unifr.ch/global/documents/44590
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