title: Rapid Tracing of Resistance Plasmids in a Nosocomial Outbreak Using Optical DNA Mapping.
abstract: Resistance to life-saving antibiotics increases rapidly worldwide, and multiresistant bacteria have become a global threat to human health. Presently, the most serious threat is the increasing spread of Enterobacteriaceae carrying genes coding for extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and carbapenemases on highly mobile plasmids. We here demonstrate how optical DNA maps of single plasmids can be used as fingerprints to trace plasmids, for example, during resistance outbreaks. We use the assay to demonstrate a potential transmission route of an ESBL-carrying plasmid between bacterial strains/species and between patients, during a polyclonal outbreak at a neonatal ward at Sahlgrenska University Hospital (Gothenburg, Sweden). Our results demonstrate that optical DNA mapping is an easy and rapid method for detecting the spread of plasmids mediating resistance. With the increasing prevalence of multiresistant bacteria, diagnostic tools that can aid in solving ongoing routes of transmission, in particular in hospital settings, will be of paramount importance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology , Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Vilhelm
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg , Guldhedsgatan 10, 41346 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Nahid
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Karami
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology , Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Nyberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund University , Sölvegatan 14A, 22362 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christoffer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pichler
authors.affiliation: Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund University , Sölvegatan 14A, 22362 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Paola C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Torche Pedreschi
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology , Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.|Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund University , Sölvegatan 14A, 22362 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Saair
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Quaderi
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Physics, Chalmers University of Technology , Kemivägen 9, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fritzsche
authors.affiliation: Department of Astronomy and Theoretical Physics, Lund University , Sölvegatan 14A, 22362 Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ambjörnsson
authors.affiliation: Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg , Guldhedsgatan 10, 41346 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Åhrén
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Biological Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology , Kemivägen 10, 41296 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Fredrik
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Westerlund
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000378:metabolism; D004756:Enterobacteriaceae Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006761:Hospitals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: antibiotic resistance; nosocomial outbreak; optical DNA mapping; plasmids