title: Prevalence and diversity of extended-spectrum-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae from marine beach waters.
abstract: A total of 1,351 Enterobacteriaceae isolates from 144 seawater samples were collected over a four-year period from three public beaches in the eastern Adriatic Sea in Croatia. Approximately 35% of the strains were multidrug-resistant. BlaESBL genes were detected in 4.2% of the isolated Enterobacteriaceae, the main species of which were Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae and Klebsiella pneumoniae. BlaTEM-1+SHV-12 was the most dominant genotype, followed by blaCTX-M-15.Raoultella terrigena and E. intermedius simultaneously harboured blaTEM-1,blaSHV-11/12 and blaCTX-M-15. Isolate fingerprinting revealed that marine E. coli isolates were clonally related to CTX-M-producing strains from a regional university hospital. These results indicate that marine beach waters are reservoirs of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae and thus constitute a public health problem with further potential to act as mediators in gene flow between marine coastal areas and clinical settings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Split, Teslina 12, 21000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maravić
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Split, Teslina 12, 21000 Split, Croatia. Electronic address: Mirjana.Skocibusic@pmfst.hr.
authors.forename: Mirjana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Skočibušić
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Biology, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička 54, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; Mediterranean Institute for Life Sciences, Meštrovićevo šetalište 45, 21000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Svjetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cvjetan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Split, Teslina 12, 21000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Ivica
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Šamanić
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Split, Teslina 12, 21000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Željana
authors.initials: Ž
authors.lastname: Fredotović
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Split, Teslina 12, 21000 Split, Croatia.
authors.forename: Jasna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Puizina
mesh_terms: D017523:Croatia; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D051456:Gene Flow; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D012623:Seawater / Q000382:microbiology*; D060753:Water Quality; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001618:beta-Lactamases
keywords: Antibiotic resistance; CTX-M-15; ESBL; Enterobacteriaceae; Marine environment; SHV-12