title: Community fecal carriage of broad-spectrum cephalosporin-resistant Escherichia coli in Tunisian children.
abstract: The spread of extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) and plasmid mediated AmpC β-lactamases (pAmpC) was evaluated in Escherichia coli strains collected from the intestinal microbiota of healthy children in Tunisia. The carriage rate of CTXRE. coli was 6.6% (7 of 105 samples) and one strain/sample was further characterized (7 isolates). These isolates harbored blaCTX-M-1(n = 4), blaCTX-M-15(n = 2), and blaCMY-2gene (n = 1), which were usually located on FIB replicon type and carried class 1 integrons. The acc(6')-Ib-cr variant was identified in one isolate that harbored blaCTX-M-15. CTXRE. coli isolates were genetically unrelated and belonged to B1 (n = 3/ST155/ST398/ST58), D (n = 2/ST117/ST493), B2 (n = 1/ST127), and A (n = 1/ST746) phylogroups. Strain virulence scores varied from 3 to 12, and frequently harbored the pathogenicity island PAI IV536. The intestinal tract of healthy children constitute an important reservoir of ESBL producing E. coli. Thus, improvement of hygiene measures mainly in the school environment and rational use of antibiotics would be of great help in preventing selection and diffusion of resistant strains from intestinal microbiota.
authors.affiliation: Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, LR99ES09 Laboratoire de Résistance aux antimicrobiens, 1007, Tunis, Tunisie. Electronic address: ferjsana@yahoo.fr.
authors.forename: Sana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferjani
authors.affiliation: Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, LR99ES09 Laboratoire de Résistance aux antimicrobiens, 1007, Tunis, Tunisie; CHU Charles Nicolle, Service de Microbiologie, 1006, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Mabrouka
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saidani
authors.affiliation: Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, LR99ES09 Laboratoire de Résistance aux antimicrobiens, 1007, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Zeineb
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Hamzaoui
authors.affiliation: Area Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de La Rioja, Logrono, Spain.
authors.forename: Carla Andrea
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: Area Bioquímica y Biología Molecular, Universidad de La Rioja, Logrono, Spain.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, LR99ES09 Laboratoire de Résistance aux antimicrobiens, 1007, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Elaa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maamar
authors.affiliation: CHU Charles Nicolle, Service de Microbiologie, 1006, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Amine Faouzi
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Slim
authors.affiliation: Université de Tunis El Manar, Faculté de Médecine de Tunis, LR99ES09 Laboratoire de Résistance aux antimicrobiens, 1007, Tunis, Tunisie; CHU Charles Nicolle, Service de Microbiologie, 1006, Tunis, Tunisie.
authors.forename: Ben Boubaker Ilhem
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Boutiba
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002353:Carrier State / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002648:Child; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D032023:Integrons; D008297:Male; D058889:Molecular Typing; D010957:Plasmids / Q000032:analysis; D015995:Prevalence; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002511:Cephalosporins; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Escherichia coli; Extended spectrum β-lactamase; Fecal carriage; Quinolones resistance; Virulence genes