Prevalence of Avian-origin mcr-1-positive Escherichia coli with a Potential Risk to Humans in Tai'an, China

Abstract Multidrug-resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli are responsible for difficult-to-treat infections. We sought to determine the prevalence and characteristics of MDR E. coli strains isolated from poultry and clinical patients in the same geographical region. Eighty-seven E. coli strains were isolated from poultry with perihepatitis lesions at different slaughterhouses, and 356 nonrepetitive E. coli strains were isolated from clinical patients. All samples were continuously collected from October to December 2017 in Tai’an, China. The presence of the mcr-1 gene in the strains was assessed by polymerase chain reaction. The genetic relationships of the polymyxin (POL)-resistant E. coli strains were analyzed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The results indicate that the POL resistance rate for the E. coli isolates from poultry was 31.03% (27/87), whereas the human-origin E. coli isolates were 100% sensitive to POL. The mcr-1 gene and extended-spectrum β-lactamase blaCTX-M-14 genes were identified in all 27 POL-resistant avian-origin E. coli isolates. Our PFGE analysis suggested that the 27 strains were represented by 14 pulsotypes, among which there were 3 strains each with A, E, I and K pulsotypes, and 1 to 2 strains represented by the other 10 pulsotypes. Furthermore, MLST molecular typing identified 16 sequence types (STs), including 4 ST156 strains, 3 ST533 strains and 1 to 2 strains represented by the remaining 14 ST types. In summary, the E. coli strains isolated in the Tai’an area all showed the MDR phenotype, the rate of which for poultry was higher than that for humans. No POL-resistant human-origin E. coli strains were identified in the clinical patients. Our study reveals that poultry-derived MDR mcr-1-positive E. coli (MCRPEC) strains may pose a potential risk to humans, and the surveillance findings presented herein will be conducive to our understanding of the prevalence and characteristics of MCRPEC strains in the Tai'an area.