Colistin-resistance genes in Escherichia coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections

Abstract

Background The incidence of antimicrobial resistance is alarmingly high because it occurs in humans, environment, and animal sectors from a “One Health” viewpoint. The emergence of plasmid-carried mobile colistin-resistance (MCR) genes limits the efficacy of colistin, which is the last-line treatment for multidrug resistance (MDR) against gram-negative infections. Objectives The current study aimed to investigate emergence of colistin-resistance (MCR 1–5) genes in E. coli isolated from patients with urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Jordan. Methods E. coli (n = 132) were collected from urine specimens. The E. coli isolated from human UTI patients were examined the resistance to colistin based on the presence of MCR (1–5). All isolates were tested against 20 antimicrobials using the standard disk diffusion method. The broth microdilution technique was used to analyze colistin resistance. In addition, the MCR (1–5) genes were detected using multiplex PCR. Results Out of the 132 isolates, 1 isolate was colistin-resistant, having a minimum inhibitory concentration of 8 μg/mL and possessing MCR-1. All the E. coli isolates showed high resistance to penicillin (100%), amoxicillin (79.55%), cephalexin (75.76%), nalidixic acid (62.88%), tetracycline (58.33%), or cefepime (53.79). Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first report on the presence of plasmid-coded MCR-1 in E. coli from a patient with UTIs in Jordan. This is a problematic finding because colistin is the last-line drug for the treatment of infections caused by MDR gram-negative bacteria. There is a crucial need to robustly utilize antibiotics to control and prevent the emergence and prevalence of colistin-resistance genes.