Diverse Escherichia coli lineages, from domestic animals and humans in a household, carry colistin resistance gene mcr-1 in Ecuador

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of Escherichia coli carrying mcr-1 gene in domestic animals close to a child who suffered a peritoneal infection by a mcr-1 positive E. coli. Rectal or cloacal swabs and fecal samples from domestic animals were plated on selective media to isolate colistin-resistant E. coli and isolates were submitted to detection of mcr-1 gene, pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), multi-locus sequence typing (MLST), replicon typing and S1-PFGE. Four mcr-1 positive E. coli isolates (from chicken, turkey and dog) were recovered. No shared PFGE pattern or MLST sequence type were observed among isolates. A 60Kb IncI1{gamma} mcr-1-carrying plasmid was detected in all isolates. Our results suggest that mcr-1 gene was horizontally disseminated amongst different lineages of E. coli from domestic animals in the childs household.\n\nImportanceHorizontally transferable colistin resistance (mcr-1 gene) is thought to have originated in domestic animals and transferred to humans through meat and dairy products. In the present report we show evidence that the mcr-1 gene could be transferred to different E. coli strains colonizing different hosts (humans and pets) in the same household.