Determinants of β-lactam resistance in meningitis-causing Enterobacteriaceae in Brazil

• Published in: Canadian journal of microbiology Vol. 56; no. 5; pp. 399 - 407
• Main Authors: Andrade, L. N, Minarini, L. A.R, Pitondo-Silva, A, Clímaco, E. C, Palazzo, I. C.V, Medeiros, M. I.C, Darini, A. L.C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Canada NRC Research Press 01.05.2010
• Subjects: Beta lactamases; beta-Lactam Resistance - genetics; Brazil; Care and treatment; CTX-M; Diagnosis; Enterobacter; Enterobacteriaceae; Enterobacteriaceae - classification; Enterobacteriaceae - drug effects; Enterobacteriaceae - genetics; Epidemiologic methods; ESBL; Genetic Variation - genetics; Humans; Meningitis; Meningitis - microbiology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; MLST; méningite; Physiological aspects; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Properties; Brazil
• ISSN: 0008-4166; 1480-3275
• DOI: 10.1139/W10-020

This study analyzed resistance determinants in extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing enterobacteria and the epidemiology of 11 Escherichia coli isolates obtained from meningitis patients in a region of Brazil from 2000 to 2005. ESBL-encoding genes and their genetic environment were investigated by PCR and sequencing. The gene bla CTX-M-2 was identified in 3 different enterobacteria (E. coli, Serratia marcescens , and Proteus mirabilis ) downstream of the insertion sequence ISCR1 (localized in class 1 integrons), but not as part of the resistance cassettes region. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to investigate genetic relationships between the 11 E. coli isolates in this study and strains associated with meningitis in the E. coli MLST database. MLST analysis indicated high genetic diversity among isolates, and no significant genetic relationship was identified with meningitis-causing E. coli in the database. The results in this report reinforce the need to be attentive to meningitis suspected to be due to ESBL-producing enterobacterial isolates, especially where ESBL epidemiology is well known.