Hanna Woksepp
Linus Sandegren
Andrew M. Ramey
Jonas Bonnedahl
Christina Ahlstrom
2023
<p><span>Carbapenem-resistant </span><i>Enterobacteriaceae</i><span> (CRE) are a global threat to human health and are increasingly being isolated from nonclinical settings. OXA-48-producing </span><span class="named-content" data-type="genus-species">Escherichia coli</span><span> sequence type 38 (ST38) is the most frequently reported CRE type in wild birds and has been detected in gulls or storks in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The epidemiology and evolution of CRE in wildlife and human niches, however, remains unclear. We compared wild bird origin </span><span class="named-content" data-type="genus-species">E. coli</span><span> ST38 genome sequences generated by our research group and publicly available genomic data derived from other hosts and environments to (i) understand the frequency of intercontinental dispersal of </span><span class="named-content" data-type="genus-species">E. coli</span><span> ST38 clones isolated from wild birds, (ii) more thoroughly measure the genomic relatedness of carbapenem-resistant isolates from gulls sampled in Turkey and Alaska, USA, using long-read whole-genome sequencing and assess the spatial dissemination of this clone among different hosts, and (iii) determine whether ST38 isolates from humans, environmental water, and wild birds have different core or accessory genomes (e.g., antimicrobial resistance genes, virulence genes, plasmids) which might elucidate bacterial or gene exchange among niches. Our results suggest that </span><span class="named-content" data-type="genus-species">E. coli</span><span> ST38 strains, including those resistant to carbapenems, are exchanged between humans and wild birds, rather than separately maintained populations within each niche. Furthermore, despite close genetic similarity among OXA-48-producing </span><span class="named-content" data-type="genus-species">E. coli</span><span> ST38 clones from gulls in Alaska and Turkey, intercontinental dispersal of ST38 clones among wild birds is uncommon. Interventions to mitigate the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance throughout the environment (e.g., as exemplified by the acquisition of carbapenem resistance by birds) may be warranted.</span></p>
application/pdf
10.1128/aem.00319-23
en
ASM Journals
Exchange of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli Sequence Type 38 intercontinentally and among wild bird, human, and environmental niches
article