title: Intermingled Klebsiella pneumoniae Populations Between Retail Meats and Human Urinary Tract Infections.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Klebsiella pneumoniae is a common colonizer of the gastrointestinal tract of humans, companion animals, and livestock. To better understand potential contributions of foodborne K. pneumoniae to human clinical infections, we compared K. pneumoniae isolates from retail meat products and human clinical specimens to assess their similarity based on antibiotic resistance, genetic relatedness, and virulence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from retail meats from Flagstaff grocery stores in 2012 and from urine and blood specimens from Flagstaff Medical Center in 2011-2012. Isolates underwent antibiotic susceptibility testing and whole-genome sequencing. Genetic relatedness of the isolates was assessed using multilocus sequence typing and phylogenetic analyses. Extraintestinal virulence of several closely related meat-source and urine isolates was assessed using a murine sepsis model.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Meat-source isolates were significantly more likely to be multidrug resistant and resistant to tetracycline and gentamicin than clinical isolates. Four sequence types occurred among both meat-source and clinical isolates. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed close relationships among meat-source and clinical isolates. Isolates from both sources showed similar virulence in the mouse sepsis model.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Meat-source K. pneumoniae isolates were more likely than clinical isolates to be antibiotic resistant, which could reflect selective pressures from antibiotic use in food-animal production. The close genetic relatedness of meat-source and clinical isolates, coupled with similarities in virulence, suggest that the barriers to transmission between these 2 sources are low. Taken together, our results suggest that retail meat is a potential vehicle for transmitting virulent, antibiotic-resistant K. pneumoniae from food animals to humans.
authors.affiliation: George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington D.C.
authors.forename: Gregg S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Kara
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Waits
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Lora
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Nordstrom
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Weaver
authors.affiliation: George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington D.C. Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Maliha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aziz
authors.affiliation: Flagstaff Medical Center, Arizona.
authors.forename: Lori
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gauld
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Heidi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grande
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bigler
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Horwinski
authors.affiliation: VA Healthcare System Minneapolis, Minnesota.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Porter
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stegger
authors.affiliation: VA Healthcare System Minneapolis, Minnesota Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
authors.forename: James R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Translational Genomics Research Institute Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Cindy M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington D.C. Translational Genomics Research Institute.
authors.forename: Lance B
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018562:Disease Transmission, Infectious; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007710:Klebsiella Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D007711:Klebsiella pneumoniae / Q000145:classification* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008460:Meat / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D018805:Sepsis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014774:Virulence; D055815:Young Adult; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Klebsiella; antibiotic resistance; food; meat; poultry