Abstract
Wastewater treatment plants are considered hot spots for antibiotic resistance. Most studies have addressed the impact on the aquatic environment, as water is an important source of anthropogenic pollutants. Few investigations have been conducted on terrestrial animals living near treatment ponds. We isolated extended-spectrum-β-lactamase Enterobacter cloacae complex-producing strains from 35 clinical isolates, 29 samples of wastewater, 19 wild animals, and 10 domestic animals living in the hospital sewers and at or near a wastewater treatment plant to study the dissemination of clinically relevant resistance through hospital and urban effluents. After comparison of the antibiotic-resistant profiles of E. cloacae complex strains, a more detailed analysis of 41 whole-genome-sequenced strains demonstrated that the most common sequence type, ST114 (n = 20), was present in human (n = 9) and nonhuman (n = 11) samples, with a close genetic relatedness. Whole-genome sequencing confirmed local circulation of this pathogenic lineage in diverse animal species. In addition, nanopore sequencing and specific synteny of an IncHI2/ST1/blaCTX-M-15 plasmid recovered on the majority of these ST114 clones (n = 18) indicated successful worldwide diffusion of this mobile genetic element.
Highlights
Wastewater treatment plants are considered hot spots for antibiotic resistance
Of the 139 unique ESBL-producing Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC) strains, 63 were collected from raw water carried from the hospital sewers to the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) effluents, 10 were collected from domestic animals, and 30 were collected from wild fauna (Table 1)
Analysis of the antibiotic resistance profiles (ARPs) of these 139 strains supplemented with ARPs from 36 clinical strains indicated that one corresponding to ESBL-producing ECC strains harboring coresistance to fluoroquinolones, gentamicin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole predominated and was the only one common to the different sample types (ARP–1, 63/139) (Table 1 and Data Set S1)
Summary
Wastewater treatment plants are considered hot spots for antibiotic resistance. Most studies have addressed the impact on the aquatic environment, as water is an important source of anthropogenic pollutants. We isolated extendedspectrum-b-lactamase Enterobacter cloacae complex-producing strains from 35 clinical isolates, 29 samples of wastewater, 19 wild animals, and 10 domestic animals living in the hospital sewers and at or near a wastewater treatment plant to study the dissemination of clinically relevant resistance through hospital and urban effluents. After comparison of the antibiotic-resistant profiles of E. cloacae complex strains, a more detailed analysis of 41 whole-genome-sequenced strains demonstrated that the most common sequence type, ST114 (n = 20), was present in human (n = 9) and nonhuman (n = 11) samples, with a close genetic relatedness. Antibiotic resistance is not restricted to human and veterinary medicine and affects the environment and wild fauna, with some critical interfaces with human activities, including human sewage and its treatment [17].
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