The first report of Escherichia fergusonii isolated from non-human primates, in Africa

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the resistance phenotypes of selected enteric bacteria isolated from non-human primates at a wildlife-human interface. Bacterial isolates from faecal samples of non-human primates at two wildlife rehabilitation centres in South Africa were screened for the presence of Escherichia coli. The biochemical characterisation of E. coli and E. coli-like bacteria revealed both adonitol positive and sorbitol negative strains – a unique characteristic of Escherichia fergusonii and Escherichia coli K99. Further tests were carried out to identify the isolates, namely growth on Simmons citrate agar supplemented with 2% adonitol and biochemical tests based on their ability to ferment cellobiose and d-arabitol. Antimicrobial sensitivity was determined with microbroth dilution tests employing microtitre plates with 21 different antimicrobial drugs. Molecular characterisation was done with a duplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay that targeted the yliE and EFER_1569 genes. E. fergusonii strains were confirmed by the presence of a 233 bp segment of the yliE gene and a 432 bp segment of the EFER_1569 gene.Twenty-three E. coli-like bacteria were confirmed as E. fergusonii based on the confirmatory tests and they were in 100% agreement. Approximately 87% of them were resistant to polymyxins B and E (colistin) as well as the carbapenem group with occasional resistance to amikacin.This is the first reported isolation and identification of E. fergusonii strains in non-human primates. The findings point to E. fergusonii as a possible emerging pathogen of zoonotic importance.

First Detection of Carbapenem-Resistant Escherichia fergusonii Strains Harbouring Beta-Lactamase Genes from Clinical Samples

“…Multidrug-resistant Extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) clones have contributed significantly to the growing antibiotics resistance burden [1,2]. Several clinical multidrug-resistant ExPEC clones, including ST131, ST73 and ST40, reported in previous studies, have acquired resistance plasmids that encode multiple beta-lactamase genes, particularly those required for Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) production [3][4][5][6][7]. This facilitates their capacity in playing significant roles in the global dissemination of ESBL genes [1,8,9].…”

“…Another extraintestinal human pathogen within the genus Escherichia has also shown tendencies for the dissemination of plasmid-mediated beta-lactamase genes. Escherichia fergusonii closely related to the ExPECs with about 60% similarity, was classified in 1985 as a new specie [7]. Escherichia fergusonii are opportunistic pathogens primarily associated with abdominal wounds, UTIs and bacteraemia in humans while causing septicaemia and diarrhoea in animals [7,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18].…”

“…The first detection of ESBL production in clinical isolates of E. fergusonii was by Lagacé-Wiens et al [19]. Although sulfhydryl variable (SHV-12) and CTX-M-1 conferring ESBL phenotypes have been reported in E. fergusonii from non-clinical samples, there is yet to be any report from human samples [7,20].…”

Escherichia fergusonii identified in preputial swabs from healthy Aceh cattle by phylogenetic 16S rRNA analysis

“…In another case in Canada, a goat developed chronic diarrhea and became emaciated, and E. fergusonii was isolated from the feces and several internal organs, namely, kidney, lung, liver and intestine (Hariharan et al (2007). Recently, in an investigation of non-human primates in Africa, Glover et al (2017) identified E. fergusonii as a possible emerging pathogen of zoonotic importance.…”

Complete Genome Sequence of Colistin-Resistant Escherichia fergusonii Strain EFCF056

“…O f the eight Escherichia species (1, 2), E. fergusonii and E. coli are easily confused during isolation due to their phenotypic and genotypic similarities (1,3). E. fergusonii is pathogenic to both humans and animals (1,3,4,5,6) and has reportedly acquired multiple-drug resistance (1,6). Since there is limited research on antimicrobial resistance in E. fergusonii, an isolate from chicken feces from Zhejiang Province, China, was examined for antimicrobial resistance.…”