Molecular Characterization of Multidrug-Resistant and Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-ProducingKlebsiella pneumoniaeIsolated from Swine Farms in Malaysia

Abstract

Aims: The high prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae associated with nosocomial infections has caused serious therapeutic challenges. The objectives of this study were to determine the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of K. pneumoniae strains isolated from Malaysian swine farms and the transferability of ESBL genes by plasmids. Results: A total of 50 K. pneumoniae strains were isolated from 389 samples, which were collected from healthy and unhealthy pigs (swine rectum and oral cavities), healthy farmers (human rectum, urine, and nasal cavities), farm's environment, and animal feeds from seven Malaysian swine farms. Antimicrobial susceptibility analysis of these 50 K. pneumoniae strains showed that the majority (86%) were resistant to tetracycline, while 44% and 36% of these strains were MDR and ESBL producers, respectively. PCR and DNA sequencing of the amplicons showed the occurrence of blaTEM (15/18), blaSHV (15/18), blaCTX-M-1 group (7/18), and blaCTX-M-2 group (2/18), while only class 1 integron-encoded integrase was detected. Conjugation experiments and plasmid analysis indicated that the majority of the ESBL genes were plasmid encoded and the plasmids in 11 strains were conjugative. Genotyping by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and repetitive extragenic palindrome-polymerase chain reaction (REP-PCR) showed that these 50 strains were genetically diverse with 44 pulsotypes and 43 REP-PCR subtypes. Conclusions: ESBLproducing K. pneumoniae strains showed high resistance to tetracycline as this antibiotic is used for prophylaxis and therapeutic purposes at the swine farms. The findings in this study have drawn attention to the issue of increasing MDR in animal husbandry and it should be taken seriously to prevent the spread and treatment failure due to antimicrobial resistance.

Prevalence and characterization of extended-spectrum ?-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolated from poultry in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

“…The rate of fecal carriage of these multidrug resistant bacteria in healthy chickens varied from one site to another (2.22 to 20.59%). These results confirm that chicken farms constitute a reservoir of ESBL producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae isolates, which might reflect a high antibiotic pressure for selection of resistant bacteria in this ecosystem (Umair et al, 2019;Saidani et al, 2019;Ghosh et al, 2019;Mobasseri et al, 2019). This prevalence is higher than those observed in Bobo Dioulasso in 2019 where the poultry faecal carriage of ESBL producing E .coli and K. pneumoniae was 0.8% (Sanou et al, 2019).…”

“…This prevalence of MDR Enterobacteriacae, was 14.0% in farms, 68.0% slaughterhouses and 18.0% in farms environment. All the strains from farms and farm environment showed resistance to tetracycline, which is used widely in feed supplements (Mobasseri et al, 2019). In general, E. coli and K. pneumoniae MDR are becoming a serious issue in humans and animals, with an increasing resistance to most available antibiotics (Mobasseri et al, 2019;Stuart, 2002).…”

“…All the strains from farms and farm environment showed resistance to tetracycline, which is used widely in feed supplements (Mobasseri et al, 2019). In general, E. coli and K. pneumoniae MDR are becoming a serious issue in humans and animals, with an increasing resistance to most available antibiotics (Mobasseri et al, 2019;Stuart, 2002). The presence of these various plasmids, often mediating resistance to several antimicrobials, could also explain the high prevalence of MDR mentioned previously (Vounba et al, 2019).…”

“…These two species are associated with a wide range of infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections, septicemia, and soft tissue infections in humans (Ghosh et al, 2019). They also cause infections in cats, dogs, birds, horses, monkeys, pigs, rats, elephants, and poultry (Mobasseri et al, 2019;Russo et al, 2021). Specifically E. coli infections in chicken viz airsacculitis, cellulitis, pericarditis, perihepatitis, and respiratory distress, are critical production-limiting disease for the poultry industry (Ghosh et al, 2019).…”

Characterization of Klebsiella pneumoniae complex isolates from pigs and humans in farms in Thailand: population genomic structure, antibiotic resistance and virulence genes

“… 1 High prevalence of third-generation cephalosporin (3GC), carbapenem and colistin resistance in KP has been reported, in addition, hypervirulent strains are circulating. 2 , 3 MDR and hypervirulent KP usually belong to separate clonal populations, but recent findings of strains exhibiting both antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and hypervirulence have been increasingly reported. 4 KP complex members can cause different infections in humans and animals.…”