High Carriage Rate of the Multiple Resistant Plasmids Harboring Quinolone Resistance Genes in <i>Enterobacter</i> spp. Isolated from Healthy Individuals
Yongyan Long,
Xin Lu,
Xiansheng Ni,
Jiaqi Liu,
Mengyu Wang,
Xu Li,
Zhe Li,
Haijian Zhou,
Zhenpeng Li,
Kui Wu,
Wei Wang,
Liya Yang,
Jialiang Xu,
Haiying Chen,
Biao Kan
Affiliations
Yongyan Long
The Collaboration Unit for Field Epidemiology of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal-Origin and Vector-Borne Disease, Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330038, China
Xin Lu
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Xiansheng Ni
The Collaboration Unit for Field Epidemiology of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal-Origin and Vector-Borne Disease, Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330038, China
Jiaqi Liu
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Mengyu Wang
The Collaboration Unit for Field Epidemiology of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal-Origin and Vector-Borne Disease, Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330038, China
Xu Li
Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 102206, China
Zhe Li
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Haijian Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Zhenpeng Li
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Kui Wu
The Collaboration Unit for Field Epidemiology of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal-Origin and Vector-Borne Disease, Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330038, China
Wei Wang
The Collaboration Unit for Field Epidemiology of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal-Origin and Vector-Borne Disease, Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330038, China
Liya Yang
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Jialiang Xu
Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing 102206, China
Haiying Chen
The Collaboration Unit for Field Epidemiology of State Key Laboratory for Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Animal-Origin and Vector-Borne Disease, Nanchang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanchang 330038, China
Biao Kan
State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China
Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria causing intractable and even fatal infections are a major health concern. Resistant bacteria residing in the intestinal tract of healthy individuals present a silent threat because of frequent transmission via conjugation and transposition. Plasmids harboring quinolone resistance genes are increasingly detected in clinical isolates worldwide. Here, we investigated the molecular epidemiology of plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) in Gram-negative bacteria from healthy service trade workers. From 157 rectal swab samples, 125 ciprofloxacin-resistant strains, including 112 Escherichia coli, 10 Klebsiella pneumoniae, two Proteus mirabilis, and one Citrobacter braakii, were isolated. Multiplex PCR screening identified 39 strains harboring the PMQR genes (including 17 qnr,19 aac(6′)-Ib-cr, and 22 oqxA/oqxB). The genome and plasmid sequences of 39 and 31 strains, respectively, were obtained by short- and long-read sequencing. PMQR genes mainly resided in the IncFIB, IncFII, and IncR plasmids, and coexisted with 3–11 other resistance genes. The high PMQR gene carriage rate among Gram-negative bacteria isolated from healthy individuals suggests the high-frequency transmission of these genes via plasmids, along with other resistance genes. Thus, healthy individuals may spread antibiotic-resistant bacterial, highlighting the need for improved monitoring and control of the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes in healthy individuals.