High incidence and endemic spread of NDM-1-positive Enterobacteriaceae in Henan Province, China.

Abstract

The emergence and spread of New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase 1 (NDM-1)-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) present an urgent threat to human health. In China, the bla(NDM-1 gene has been reported mostly in Acinetobacter spp. but is rarely found in Enterobacteriaceae. Here, we report a high incidence and endemic spread of NDM-1-producing CRE in Henan Province in China. Sixteen (33.3%) of the 48 CRE isolates obtained from patients during June 2011 to July 2012 were positive for bla(NDM-1), and the gene was found to be carried on plasmids of various sizes (∼ 55 to ∼ 360 kb). These plasmids were readily transferrable to recipient Escherichia coli by conjugation, conferred resistance to multiple antibiotics, and belonged to multiple replicon types. The bla(NDM-1)-positive CRE isolates were genetically diverse, and six new multilocus sequence typing (MLST) sequence types were linked to the carriage of NDM-1. Five of the isolates were classified as extensively drug-resistant (XDR) isolates, four of which also carried the fosA3 gene conferring resistance to fosfomycin, an alternative drug for treating infections by CRE. In each bla(NDM-1)-positive CRE isolate, the bla(NDM-1) gene was downstream of an intact ISAba125 element and upstream of the bleMBL gene. Furthermore, gene environment analysis suggested the possible transmission of bla(NDM-1)-containing sequences from Acinetobacter spp. to Klebsiella pneumoniae and Klebsiella oxytoca. These findings reveal the emergence and active transmission of NDM-1-positive CRE in China and underscore the need for heightened measures to control their further spread.

• Authors: Shangshang Qin, Ying Fu, Qijing Zhang, Hui Qi, Jian Guo Wen, Hui Xu, Lijuan Xu, Li Zeng, Hao Tian, Lijuan Rong, Yonghong Li, Lihong Shan, Hongde Xu, Yunsong Yu, Xianju Feng, Hong-Min Liu
• Journal: Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy (Antimicrob Agents Chemother) Vol. 58 Issue 8 Pg. 4275-82 (Aug 2014) ISSN: 1098-6596 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 24777095 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Chemical References

• Anti-Bacterial Agents
• Carbapenems
• DNA, Bacterial
• Fosfomycin
• beta-Lactamases
• beta-lactamase NDM-1

Topics

• Anti-Bacterial Agents (pharmacology)
• Carbapenems (pharmacology)
• China (epidemiology)
• Conjugation, Genetic
• DNA, Bacterial (genetics)
• Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial (genetics)
• Enterobacteriaceae (drug effects, enzymology, genetics, isolation & purification)
• Enterobacteriaceae Infections (drug therapy, epidemiology, microbiology, transmission)
• Epidemiological Monitoring
• Fosfomycin (pharmacology)
• Genotype
• Humans
• Incidence
• Multilocus Sequence Typing
• Plasmids (chemistry, metabolism)
• beta-Lactamases (genetics)