Occurrence of conjugative IncF-type plasmids harboring the bla CTX-M-15 gene in Enterobacteriaceae isolates from newborns in Tunisia

• Main Authors: Lahlaoui, H., De Luca, F., Maradel, S., Ben-Haj-Khalifa, A., Ben Hamouda, H., Kheder, M., Ben Moussa, M., Rossollini, G.M., Docquier, Jean-Denis
• Format: Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group 2015
• Subjects: Academic Medical Centers; Cefotaxime; Citrobacter freundii; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Enterobacter aerogenes; Enterobacter cloacae; Enterobacteriaceae; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli infection; Escherichia coli Infections; Evolution, Molecular; Genetic Variation; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Klebsiella infection; Klebsiella Infections; Klebsiella oxytoca; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Life sciences; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Microbiologie; Microbiology; Molecular Epidemiology; Plasmids; Sciences du vivant; Serratia marcescens; Tunisia
• ISSN: 1530-0447; 0031-3998
• DOI: 10.1038/pr.2014.153

Background:CTX-M-15 is the dominant type of extended-spectrum β-lactamase in clinical isolates. This enzyme constitutes the most widespread enzymes in Tunisia. In this study, we were interested to understand the causes of the evolutionary success of CTX-M-15 in a Tunisian university hospital.Methods:A total of of 72 cefotaxime-resistant Enterobacteriaceae were isolated from newborn patients at the hospital Taher sfar Mahdia in Tunisia and characterized their genetic support by means of molecular techniques.Results:Isolates were clustered into various clonal groups, although most isolates belonged to sequence types ST39 (Klebsiella pneumoniae) and ST131 (Escherichia coli). F replicons (FIA, FIB, and FII) were the most frequently detected replicon types in our collection (91.66%).Conclusion:This is the first report of QnrB-and CTX-M-15-encoding large IncF-type conjugative plasmids in Tunisia. © 2015 International Pediatric Research Foundation, Inc.