title: Integron characterization and typing of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli isolates in Belgium.
abstract: The presence of integrons and the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of STEC strains isolated in Belgium were analysed. The collection contained 306 strains, of which 225 were human isolates and 81 originated from different food or animal sources. Integrons were detected by PCR in 7.5% of the tested isolates and all were class 1 integrons. The integron-positive strains all belonged to the human collection. By RFLP, five different types (A, B, C, D, E) were distinguished. The antibiotic-resistance gene cassettes were identified by sequencing representatives of the five different types. Two types of gene cassettes were found in different combinations, one encoding resistance to streptomycin/spectinomycin and the other encoding resistance to trimethoprim. One of the gene cassettes present was the rarely detected aadA23, which was now apparently for the first time reported in Western Europe. Susceptibility profiling of the strains for 11 antibiotics was done by standard disc diffusion assays. Among the 23 integron-positive strains, 17 different antibiotic susceptibility profiles were found. In the 283 integron-negative strains, 24 different antibiotic susceptibility profiles were observed. The majority of these strains were susceptible to all tested antibiotics (n=218, 77.0%). The integron-positive strains were significantly more resistant to eight of the eleven tested antibiotics compared to the integron-negative strains (P<0.05). PFGE profiles of integron-positive strains within selected serogroups did not cluster together.
authors: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation (LFMFP), Ghent University, part of Food2Know, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.|Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, part of Food2Know, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.|Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, part of Food2Know, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium.
authors: Eva
authors: E
authors: Van Meervenne
authors: Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Ghent University, part of Food2Know, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors: Nico
authors: N
authors: Boon
authors: Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, part of Food2Know, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium.
authors: Karen
authors: K
authors: Verstraete
authors: Laboratory of Food Microbiology and Food Preservation (LFMFP), Ghent University, part of Food2Know, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Gent, Belgium.
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Devlieghere
authors: Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, part of Food2Know, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium.
authors: Koen
authors: K
authors: De Reu
authors: Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, part of Food2Know, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium.
authors: Lieve
authors: L
authors: Herman
authors: National Reference Center for VTEC/STEC, Department Microbiology and Infection Control, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, B-1090 Brussel, Belgium.
authors: Glenn
authors: G
authors: Buvens
authors: National Reference Center for VTEC/STEC, Department Microbiology and Infection Control, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, B-1090 Brussel, Belgium.
authors: Denis
authors: D
authors: Piérard
authors: Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO), Technology and Food Science Unit, part of Food2Know, Brusselsesteenweg 370, B-9090 Melle, Belgium.
authors: Els
authors: E
authors: Van Coillie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D005516:Food Microbiology; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D032023:Integrons / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005810:Multigene Family; D054323:Shiga-Toxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D059467:Transcriptome; D014774:Virulence
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents