%0 Journal Article
%T Characterizing carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli isolates from Spain: high genetic heterogeneity and wide geographical spread.
%A Dahdouh E
%A Gómez-Marcos L
%A Cañada-García JE
%A de Arellano ER
%A Sánchez-García A
%A Sánchez-Romero I
%A López-Urrutia L
%A de la Iglesia P
%A Gonzalez-Praetorius A
%A Sotelo J
%A Valle-Millares D
%A Alonso-González I
%A Bautista V
%A Lara N
%A García-Cobos S
%A Cercenado E
%A Aracil B
%A Oteo-Iglesias J
%A Pérez-Vázquez M
%A  
%J Front Cell Infect Microbiol
%V 14
%N 0
%D 2024
%M 38817448
%F 6.073
%R 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1390966
%X <B>UNASSIGNED: </B>Carbapenemase-Producing Escherichia coli (CP-Eco) isolates, though less prevalent than other CP-Enterobacterales, have the capacity to rapidly disseminate antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and cause serious difficult-to-treat infections. The aim of this study is phenotypically and genotypically characterizing CP-Eco isolates collected from Spain to better understand their resistance mechanisms and population structure.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>Ninety representative isolates received from 2015 to 2020 from 25 provinces and 59 hospitals Spanish hospitals were included. Antibiotic susceptibility was determined according to EUCAST guidelines and whole-genome sequencing was performed. Antibiotic resistance and virulence-associated genes, phylogeny and population structure, and carbapenemase genes-carrying plasmids were analyzed.<BR><B>UNASSIGNED: </B>The 90 CP-Eco isolates were highly polyclonal, where the most prevalent was ST131, detected in 14 (15.6%) of the isolates. The carbapenemase genes detected were bla OXA-48 (45.6%), bla VIM-1 (23.3%), bla NDM-1 (7.8%), bla KPC-3 (6.7%), and bla NDM-5 (6.7%). Forty (44.4%) were resistant to 6 or more antibiotic groups and the most active antibiotics were colistin (98.9%), plazomicin (92.2%) and cefiderocol (92.2%). Four of the seven cefiderocol-resistant isolates belonged to ST167 and six harbored bla NDM. Five of the plazomicin-resistant isolates harbored rmt. IncL plasmids were the most frequent (45.7%) and eight of these harbored bla VIM-1. bla OXA-48 was found in IncF plasmids in eight isolates. Metallo-β-lactamases were more frequent in isolates with resistance to six or more antibiotic groups, with their genes often present on the same plasmid/integron. ST131 isolates were associated with sat and pap virulence genes. This study highlights the genetic versatility of CP-Eco and its potential to disseminate ARGs and cause community and nosocomial infections.