Characteristics of CREC isolates (n = 388) from Chinese hospitals. Credit: Natural communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43854-3
A new type of E. coli both highly infectious and resistant to certain antibiotics has been discovered.
The newly identified mutation of E. antibiotic-resistant coli is described in a new article published in Natural communications. The team, which includes Professor Alan McNally from the University of Birmingham, suggests that some existing antibiotics, called carbapenems, will be ineffective against the bacteria.
While scientists have already identified carbapenem-resistant strains of Escherichia coli (CREC) and note that it is one of the most problematic AMR bacteria in circulation, with the ST410 version becoming E. coli most common in Chinese hospitals between 2017 and 2021. , the discovery of a more potent and infectious version of ST410 CREC, called B5/H24RxC, has been implicated in two outbreaks at a children’s hospital in China.
Laboratory analysis of the B5/H24RxC strain showed that the bacteria was able to grow faster and was more harmful to living organisms than previous versions.
Professor Alan McNally, director of the Institute of Microbiology and Infection at the University of Birmingham and author of the study, said: “It has often been thought that E. coli that evolve to become the most resistant to antibiotics do this at the cost of being more resistant to antibiotics. capable of causing infections in humans.Our incredibly important collaboration with our partners in China…allowed us to discover and characterize this new clone of E. coli which becomes both more resistant to antimicrobials and more pathogenic.
“This is a worrying new trend and we are now urging surveillance labs around the world to be on the lookout for this new clone that we know has spread beyond China.”
Core genome genes associated with the B5/H24RxC MDR clone. a) Presence and absence of genes positively and negatively associated with clone B5/H24RxC mapped to the phylogeny. Genes located in phage regions are shaded in orange, genes found in the high pathogenicity island (HPI) are in green, and genes in group O are in red. b) Schematic representation of the chromosome and plasmids in the reference strains. Colored bars and arrows indicate the location of genes in the genomes of reference strains. Credit: Natural communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43854-3
Urgent need for a collaborative effort
Samples from hospitals in 26 Chinese provinces between 2017 and 2021 were used to examine the extent of E. coli resistance. coli to antibiotics.
Using a total of 388 CREC isolates from various clinical samples, including urine, sputum and blood, the team was able to identify that ST410 was the most common CREC and, given that the highest proportion High number of samples (111) came from urine, it may be a link to urinary tract infections.
Dr Ibrahim Xiaoling Ba, senior research associate at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and first author of the paper, said: “Our study highlights the evolution of antimicrobial resistance within clinically significant pathogens, such as E. coli, highlighting the urgent need for collaborative efforts to address and mitigate this growing global public health challenge.
More information:
Xiaoliang Ba et al, Global emergence of a hypervirulent carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli ST410 clone, Natural communications (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43854-3
Provided by the University of Birmingham
Quote: New strain of E. coli highly infectious and resistant to powerful antibiotics (January 31, 2024) retrieved on January 31, 2024 from
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