Multidrug-resistant and epidemic clones of Escherichia coli from natural beds of Venus clam

Epidemic Escherichia coli clones have been recovered in marine sediment along the coast of Marche, an Adriatic region in central Italy. In the present study, E. coli strains from the clam Chamelea gallina, sampled from seven natural beds in the same area, were detected. Selected E. coli isolates fro...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Food microbiology 2016-10, Vol.59, p.1-6
Main Authors: Vignaroli, C., Di Sante, L., Leoni, F., Chierichetti, S., Ottaviani, D., Citterio, B., Biavasco, F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Bacterial Typing Techniques
Bivalvia - microbiology
Chamelea gallina
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial
Epidemics
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli - drug effects
Escherichia coli - genetics
Escherichia coli - isolation & purification
Escherichia coli - pathogenicity
Escherichia coli Infections - epidemiology
Escherichia coli Infections - microbiology
Food Microbiology
Food Safety
Genetic Variation
Genetics
Heating
Heterogeneity
Humans
Italy
Multilocus Sequence Typing
Phylogeny
Risk
Risk Factors
Sampling
Shellfish - microbiology
ST131 clone
Tetracyclines
Virulence Factors - genetics
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Summary:Epidemic Escherichia coli clones have been recovered in marine sediment along the coast of Marche, an Adriatic region in central Italy. In the present study, E. coli strains from the clam Chamelea gallina, sampled from seven natural beds in the same area, were detected. Selected E. coli isolates from all sampling sites were screened for antimicrobial susceptibility, genetic diversity and correlation. The majority (60%) belonged to phylogroups A or B1, 31% to the other groups (B2, C, D, E, F), 8% to cryptic clades, and 1% were untypable. Moreover, 33.3% of isolates were resistant to at least one drug and 11% were multidrug resistant (MDR). The most common resistance was to tetracycline, ampicillin, and streptomycin. No clonality was detected, but the strains' high genetic heterogeneity pointed at multiple sources of microbiological contamination. MLST analysis found potentially pathogenic and even epidemic MDR strains in clams collected in class A (ST746 and ST46) and class B (ST393, ST58 and ST131) areas, indicating that strains of clinical origin are detectable in clams. These data highlight that eating raw or lightly cooked clams may pose a health risk if purification is not performed or is ineffective. •Multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli isolates of clinical origin from Venus clam.•Potentially pathogenic strains recovered in clams from class A harvesting areas.•Health risks from consumption of raw or lightly cooked contaminated clams.
ISSN:0740-0020
1095-9998
DOI:10.1016/j.fm.2016.05.003