title: Molecular characterisation of the clonal emergence of high-level ciprofloxacin-monoresistant Haemophilus influenzae in the Region of Southern Denmark.
abstract: Haemophilus influenzae is an important human pathogen usually susceptible to quinolones. Here we report the emergence of high-level ciprofloxacin-monoresistant H. influenzae in the Region of Southern Denmark. Four isolates were collected for phenotypic and molecular characterisation using whole-genome sequencing (WGS). During an 18-month period, the occurrence of high-level ciprofloxacin-monoresistant H. influenzae in patients aged 1-77 years from sputum, ear and eye samples was detected. An epidemiological link between the patients could not be identified. The isolates were non-encapsulated, biotype III and were demonstrated by WGS to be clonal belonging to a single clade with an unknown multilocus sequence type (double-locus variant of ST196). The antibiogram demonstrated that they were all monoresistant to ciprofloxacin with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) >32mg/L. In silico resistome analysis revealed identical, both previously characterised and novel, putative resistance-related mutations in gyrA (S84L and D88N), parC (K20R, S84I, D356A or T356A, and M481I) and parE (E151K, I159A, D420N and S599A) in all isolates. The isolates were otherwise negative for any resistance genes. This is the first description of the clonal emergence of high-level monoresistant H. influenzae due to amino acid substitutions in gyrA, parC and parE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. Electronic address: kfu@ssi.dk.
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fuursted
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Gitte Nyvang
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Hartmeyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stegger
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark.
authors.forename: Paal Skytt
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Andersen
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Microbiology, Odense University Hospital, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark.
authors.forename: Ulrik Stenz
authors.initials: US
authors.lastname: Justesen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002939:Ciprofloxacin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003718:Denmark; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006192:Haemophilus Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D006193:Haemophilus influenzae / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D058885:Multilocus Sequence Typing; D009154:Mutation; D015363:Quinolones
chemical_list: D015363:Quinolones; D002939:Ciprofloxacin
keywords: Clonal; Haemophilus influenzae; High-level ciprofloxacin-monoresistant; WGS; Whole-genome sequencing