AUTHOR=Tiwari Ananda , Paakkanen Jaana , Österblad Monica , Kirveskari Juha , Hendriksen Rene S. , Heikinheimo Annamari 

TITLE=Wastewater Surveillance Detected Carbapenemase Enzymes in Clinically Relevant Gram-Negative Bacteria in Helsinki, Finland; 2011–2012

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2022.887888

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2022.887888

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Antimicrobial resistance profiling of pathogens helps to identify the emergence of rare or new resistance threats and prioritize possible actions to be taken against them. The analysis of wastewater (WW) can reveal the circulation of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) among the catchment communities. Here, we analyzed WW influent samples to determine the prevalence of carbapenemase genes-carrying Gram-negative bacteria (Carba-GNB) in Helsinki, Finland. This study set important historical reference points from the very early stage of the carbapenemase era, during the period 2011–2012. A total of 405 bacterial isolates grown on CHROMagarKPC (<italic>n</italic> = 195) and CHROMagarESBL (<italic>n</italic> = 210) from WW influent samples were collected between October 2011 and August 2012 and were analyzed. The bacterial DNA from the isolates was extracted, and the prevalence of carbapenemases genes <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>NDM</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>GES</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>OXA-48</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>IMP</sub>, <italic>bla</italic><sub>IMI</sub>, and <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub> were screened with multiplexed PCR. All carbapenemase-positive isolates were identified taxonomically to species or genus level with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). The nucleic acid extraction was successful for 399 isolates, of which 59 (14.8%) were found to carry carbapenemase genes. A total of 89.8% of the carbapenemase positive isolates (53 out of 59) were obtained from CHROMagarKPC plates and only 10.2% (six out of 59) were obtained from CHROMagar ESBL plates. Among the Carba-GNB isolates, 86.4% were <italic>bla</italic><sub>GES</sub> (51 out of 59), 10.2% were <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> (six out of 59), and 3.4% were <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub> (two out of 59). The most common carba-gene, <italic>bla</italic><sub>GES</sub>, was carried by 10 different bacterial species, including <italic>Aeromonas</italic> spp., <italic>Enterobacter</italic> spp., and <italic>Kluyvera</italic> spp.; the <italic>bla</italic><sub>KPC</sub> gene was carried by <italic>Escherichia coli</italic>, <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic>, and <italic>Kluyvera cryocescens</italic>; and the <italic>bla</italic><sub>VIM</sub> gene was carried by <italic>Aeromonas hydrophila</italic>/<italic>caviae</italic> and <italic>Citrobacter amalonaticus</italic>. This study emphasizes that wastewater surveillance (WWS) can be an additional tool for monitoring antimicrobial resistance (AMR) at the population level.</p>