Emergence of blaNDM-carrying Escherichia coli ST167 isolate in rural communities in western Shandong Province, China
The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli (CR-EC) carrying blaNDM in rural communities may pose a potential threat to public health under the "One Health" framework. This study investigated the prevalence, genomic characteristics, and plasmid genetic structure of CR-EC in rural western Shandong Province, China, through human, animal, and environmental sampling. Among 26 CR-EC isolates, blaNDM-5 predominated (84.6%), followed by blaNDM-1 (11.5%) and blaNDM-9 (3.8%), with all strains exhibiting extensive drug resistance (XDR).