title: Characteristics of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Washington State, 1984-1991.
abstract: The resistance of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, ampicillin, ceftazidime, ceftriaxone, cefuroxime, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, tetracycline, ticarcillin, tobramycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was examined, and resistant strains were characterized. All 56 isolates collected between 1984 and 1987 were susceptible to all antibiotics tested; 13 (7.4%) of 176 strains isolated between 1989 and 1991 were resistant to streptomycin, sulfisoxazole, and tetracycline. lambda-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis suggested that the 13 resistant strains belonged to nine different clones. The emerging resistance of E. coli O157:H7 to antibiotics could portend an increased prevalence of this pathogen in food animals that receive antibiotics. Antimicrobial resistance of E. coli O157:H7 could be useful as a rapid epidemiologic marker and as a way to select this pathogen from suspected vehicles of transmission, but this resistance could also complicate therapeutic trials with sulfa-containing antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samadpour
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Clausen
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Besser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baylor
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Neill
authors.forename: F D
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Schoenknecht
authors.forename: P I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Tarr
mesh_terms: D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D012150:Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013444:Sulfisoxazole / Q000494:pharmacology; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology; D014861:Washington
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D022622:Shiga Toxin 1; D022641:Shiga Toxin 2; D013444:Sulfisoxazole; D013752:Tetracycline; D013307:Streptomycin