Screening for fecal carriage of MCR-producing Enterobacteriaceae in healthy humans and primary care patients.

Zurfluh K; Stephan R; Widmer A; Poirel L; Nordmann P; Nüesch HJ; Hächler H; Nüesch-Inderbinen M

doi:10.1186/s13756-017-0186-z

Back

Journal article

Screening for fecal carriage of MCR-producing Enterobacteriaceae in healthy humans and primary care patients.

Zurfluh K Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Stephan R Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Widmer A Division of Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology, University of Basel, 4031 Basel, Switzerland.
Poirel L Emerging Antibiotic Resistance, Medical and Molecular Microbiology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
Nordmann P Emerging Antibiotic Resistance, Medical and Molecular Microbiology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland.
Nüesch HJ Practice for General Medicine, Birchstrasse 2, 8472 Seuzach, Switzerland.
Hächler H Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Nüesch-Inderbinen M Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene, Vetsuisse Faculty University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 272, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.

2017-03-21

Published in:

Antimicrobial resistance and infection control. - 2017

English BACKGROUND
The extent of the occurrence of the plasmid-encoded colistin resistance genes mcr-1 and mcr-2 among humans is currently sparsely studied in Western Europe.

OBJECTIVES
To determine the occurrence of MCR-producing Enterobacteriaceae in fecal samples of healthy humans with high occupational exposure to food and primary care patients in Switzerland.

METHODS
Stool samples from 1091 healthy individuals and fecal swabs from 53 primary care patients were screened for polymyxin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae using LB agar containing 4 mg/L colistin. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of colistin were determined for non-intrinsic colistin-resistant isolates. Isolates were screened by PCR for the presence of mcr-1 and mcr-2 genes.

RESULTS
The fecal carriage rate of colistin resistant (MIC value >2 mg/l) Enterobacteriaceae was 1.5% for healthy people and 3.8% for primary care patients. Isolates included Hafnia alvei (n = 9), Escherichia coli (n = 3), Enterobacter cloacae (n = 4), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n = 1) and Raoultella ornithinolytica (n = 1). None of the isolates harbored the mcr-1 or mcr-2 genes.

CONCLUSIONS
There is no evidence for the presence of MCR-producers in the fecal flora of healthy people or primary care patients. Therefore, the risk of transfer of mcr genes from animals, food or the environment to humans is likely to be low in Switzerland.

Language