Genomic insights of high-risk clones of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli isolated from community infections and commercial meat in Southern Brazil

Abstract

During a microbiological and genomic surveillance study to investigate the molecular epidemiology of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli from community-acquired urinary tract infections (UTI) and commercial meat samples, in a Brazilian city with a high occurrence of infections by ESBL-producing bacteria, we have identified the presence of CTX-M (-55, -27, -24, -15, -14 and -2)-producing E. coli belonging to the international clones ST354, ST131, ST117, and ST38. The ST131 was more prevalent in human samples, and worryingly the high-risk ST131-C1-M27 was identified in human infections for the first time. We also detected CTX-M-55-producing E. coli ST117 isolates from meat samples (i.e., chicken and pork) and human infections. Moreover, we have identified the important clone CTX-M-24-positive E. coli ST354 from human samples in Brazil for the first time. In brief, our results suggest a potential of commercialized meat as a reservoir of high-priority E. coli lineages in the community. In contrast, the identification of E. coli ST131-C1-M27 indicates that novel pandemic clones have emerged in Brazil, constituting a public health issue.