AUTHOR=Cardozo Marita Vedovelli , Liakopoulos Apostolos , Brouwer Michael , Kant Arie , Pizauro Lucas José Luduvério , Borzi Mariana Monezi , Mevius Dik , de Ávila Fernando Antonio 

TITLE=Occurrence and Molecular Characteristics of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Enterobacterales Recovered From Chicken, Chicken Meat, and Human Infections in Sao Paulo State, Brazil

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2021.628738

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2021.628738

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study aimed to investigate the phylogenetic diversity and epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> and <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic> from chicken, chicken meat, and human clinical isolates in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and characterize their respective ESBL-encoding plasmids. Three hundred samples from chicken cloaca, chicken meat, and clinical isolates were phenotypically and genotypically assessed for ESBL resistance. Isolates were identified by MALDI TOF-MS and further characterized by MLST analysis and phylogenetic grouping. ESBL genes were characterized and their location was determined by I-Ceu-I-PFGE and Southern blot, conjugation, transformation, and PCR-based replicon typing experiments. Thirty-seven ESBL-producing isolates (28 <italic>E. coli</italic> and 9 <italic>K. pneumoniae</italic>) that were positive for the <italic>bla</italic><sub><italic>CTX–M</italic>–1</sub> or <italic>bla</italic><sub><italic>CTX–M</italic>–2</sub> gene groups were obtained. Two isolates were negative in the transformation assay, and the chromosomal location of the genes was deduced by Southern blot. The <italic>bla</italic><sub><italic>CTX–M</italic></sub> genes identified were carried on plasmid replicon-types X1, HI2, N, FII-variants, I1 and R. The <italic>E. coli</italic> isolates belonged to nine sequence types, while the <italic>K. pneumoniae</italic> isolates belonged to four sequence types. The <italic>E. coli</italic> isolates belonged to phylotype classification groups A, B1, D, and F. This study demonstrated that isolates from cloacal swabs, chicken meat, and human feces had genetic diversity, with a high frequency of <italic>bla</italic><sub><italic>CTX–M</italic>–15</sub> among chickens, chicken meat, and human feces. Thus, this reinforces the hypothesis that chickens, as well as their by-products, could be an important source of transmission for ESBL-producing pathogens to humans in South America.</p>