Occurrence and Characterisation of Colistin-Resistant Escherichia coli in Raw Meat in Southern Italy in 2018-2020

Gaia Nobili*, Gianfranco La Bella, Maria Grazia Basanisi, Annita Maria Damato, Rosa Coppola, Rachele Migliorelli, Valeria Rondinone, Pimlapas Leekitcharoenphon, Valeria Bortolaia, Giovanna La Salandra

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Colistin is a last-resort drug for the treatment of infections by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and the emergence of colistin resistance poses a serious clinical challenge. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli in retail meat in Southern Italy in 2018-2020. Of 570 samples, 147 contained E. coli. Two out of 147 (1.4%) E. coli showed a non-wild-type phenotype to colistin and harboured mcr-1. mcr-1 was also detected in a wild-type isolate, resulting in a 2% mcr prevalence. mcr-1-positive isolates originated from turkey meat collected in Apulia (n = 2) and Basilicata (n = 1). A whole-genome sequencing analysis confirmed mcr-1.2 and mcr-1.1 in two and one isolate, respectively. The strains were diverse, belonging to three multi-locus sequence types (ST354, ST410, SLV of ST10) and harbouring genes mediating resistance to antimicrobials in two, six and seven classes. mcr-1 was carried by IncX4 plasmids with high nucleotide similarity to IncX4 plasmids harbouring mcr-1.2 and mcr-1.1 in Enterobacterales from different sources and geographical regions. This is the first study reporting updates on E. coli non-wild-type to colistin from retail meat in Southern Italy, highlighting the importance of phenotypic and genotypic antimicrobial resistance surveillance to contain the dissemination of mcr among E. coli.
Original languageEnglish
Article number1805
JournalMicroorganisms
Volume10
Issue number9
Number of pages9
ISSN2076-2607
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Escherichia coli
  • Meat
  • Antimicrobial resistance
  • Multidrug resistance
  • Whole genome sequencing
  • mcr
  • IncX4
  • MLST

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