title: Investigation of Escherichia coli Harboring the mcr-1 Resistance Gene - Connecticut, 2016.
abstract: The mcr-1 gene confers resistance to the polymyxins, including the antibiotic colistin, a medication of last resort for multidrug-resistant infections. The mcr-1 gene was first reported in 2015 in food, animal, and patient isolates from China (1) and is notable for being the first plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mechanism to be identified. Plasmids can be transferred between bacteria, potentially spreading the resistance gene to other bacterial species. Since its discovery, the mcr-1 gene has been reported from Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, and North America (2,3), including the United States, where it has been identified in Escherichia coli isolated from three patients and from two intestinal samples from pigs (2,4-6). In July 2016, the Pathogen Detection System at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (Bethesda, Maryland) identified mcr-1 in the whole genome sequence of an E. coli isolate from a Connecticut patient (7); this is the fourth isolate from a U.S. patient to contain the mcr-1 gene.
authors.forename: Amber M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Vasquez
authors.forename: Noelisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Laughlin
authors.forename: Ehren
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dancy
authors.forename: Russell
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Melmed
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sosa
authors.forename: Louise Francois
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: Jason P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Folster
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Strockbine
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Moulton-Meissner
authors.forename: Uzma
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ansari
authors.forename: Matthew L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Cartter
authors.forename: Maroya Spalding
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Walters
mesh_terms: D017691:Caribbean Region; D003237:Connecticut; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000382:microbiology*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D011113:Polymyxins / Q000494:pharmacology; D014195:Travel
chemical_list: D011113:Polymyxins