Tetracycline-resistant Escherichia coli strains are inherited from parents and persist in the infant's intestines in the absence of selective pressure.
The study investigated tetracycline (TC), ampicillin (AMP), cefazolin (CEF), and trimethoprim (TMP) resistance in Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the feces of 21 infants up to 6 months of age and in their parents in the absence of selective antimicrobial pressure. Clonality of strains was assessed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Three infants had resistant E. coli strains in their feces identical to the mothers' from week 1 on, which persisted over weeks. From week 2 on, in another four infants, persisting resistant E. coli were found, two of them identical to the mothers'. All of these persisting E. coli strains (except one family) showed at least resistance to TC. In infants, resistant E. coli strains inherited from their mothers tended to persist over months. Therefore, the persistence of resistant E. coli and their possible capacity to cause symptomatic infection or transfer its resistance genes to other bacteria deserves more attention.
Prelog
Martina
M
Department of Pediatrics, Medical University Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria. Martina.Prelog@i-med.ac.at
Grif
Katharina
K
Decristoforo
Cornelia
C
Würzner
Reinhard
R
Kiechl-Kohlendorfer
Ursula
U
Brunner
Andrea
A
Zimmerhackl
Lothar Bernd
LB
Orth
Dorothea
D
D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002437:Cefazolin / Q000494:pharmacology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009035:Mothers; D013752:Tetracycline / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013753:Tetracycline Resistance; D014295:Trimethoprim / Q000494:pharmacology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000667:Ampicillin; D014295:Trimethoprim; D013752:Tetracycline; D002437:Cefazolin