title: Characteristics of CTX-M Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Strains Isolated from Multiple Rivers in Southern Taiwan.
abstract: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli sequence type ST131 has emerged as the leading cause of community-acquired urinary tract infections and bacteremia worldwide. Whether environmental water is a potential reservoir of these strains remains unclear. River water samples were collected from 40 stations in southern Taiwan from February to August 2014. PCR assay and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis were conducted to determine the CTX-M group and sequence type, respectively. In addition, we identified the seasonal frequency of ESBL-producing E. coli strains and their geographical relationship with runoffs from livestock and poultry farms between February and August 2014. ESBL-producing E. coli accounted for 30% of the 621 E. coli strains isolated from river water in southern Taiwan. ESBL-producing E. coli ST131 was not detected among the isolates. The most commonly detected strain was E. coli CTX-M group 9. Among the 92 isolates selected for MLST analysis, the most common ESBL-producing clonal complexes were ST10 and ST58. The proportion of ESBL-producing E. coli was significantly higher in areas with a lower river pollution index (P = 0.025) and regions with a large number of chickens being raised (P = 0.013). ESBL-producing E. coli strains were commonly isolated from river waters in southern Taiwan. The most commonly isolated ESBL-producing clonal complexes were ST10 and ST58, which were geographically related to chicken farms. ESBL-producing E. coli ST131, the major clone causing community-acquired infections in Taiwan and worldwide, was not detected in river waters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Po-An
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Institute of Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Hsin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Cheng-Shiu University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ping-Chih
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science and Technology, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jung-Ren
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: I-Fei
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Department of Pediatrics, Pingtung Branch of Veterans General Hospital-Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Ling
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yee-Hsuan
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chiou
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical Engineering and Institute of Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Yu
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan mfcheng@vghks.gov.tw dtmed111wang@ntu.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Jiun-Ling
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan mfcheng@vghks.gov.tw dtmed111wang@ntu.edu.tw.|School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan.|Fooyin University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ming-Fang
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Cheng
mesh_terms: D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002645:Chickens; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005838:Genotype; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D058974:Phylogeography; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D045483:Rivers / Q000382:microbiology*; D012621:Seasons; D013624:Taiwan; D001618:beta-Lactamases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001618:beta-Lactamases