Previous Article | Next Article 
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2002, p. 389-394, Vol. 40, No. 2
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.2.389-394.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
Characterization of Chloramphenicol Resistance in Beta-Hemolytic Escherichia coli Associated with Diarrhea in Neonatal Swine
Kenneth M. Bischoff,1* David G. White,2 Patrick F. McDermott,2 Shaohua Zhao,2 Stuart Gaines,2 John J. Maurer,3 and David J. Nisbet1
Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, College Station, Texas,1
Office of Research, Center for Veterinary Medicine, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Laurel, Maryland,2
Department of Avian Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia3
Received 27 August 2001/
Returned for modification 4 November 2001/
Accepted 20 November 2001
Ninety beta-hemolytic Escherichia coli isolates associated with diarrhea in neonatal pigs from multiple farms in Oklahoma were investigated for known associated disease serotypes, virulence factors, ribotypes, and antimicrobial susceptibility phenotypes. Fifteen different serotypes were observed, with 58% of isolates belonging to groups that produce one of three major enterotoxins: O149, O147, and O139. Thirty percent of the swine E. coli isolates possessed a combination of F4 fimbriae and the heat-labile toxin and heat-stable toxin B enterotoxins. Seventy-three percent of the E. coli isolates were resistant to five or more antibiotics. Interestingly, 53% of swine E. coli isolates exhibited resistance to chloramphenicol (CHL), an antibiotic whose use in food animals has been prohibited in the United States since the mid-1980s. The cmlA gene, which encodes a putative CHL efflux pump, was detected by PCR in 47 of the 48 CHL-resistant isolates, and 4 of these also possessed the cat2 gene, which encodes a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase. The one CHL-resistant isolate that did not contain either cmlA or cat-2 possessed the flo gene, which confers resistance to both florfenicol and CHL. To determine whether CHL-resistant swine E. coli isolates represented dissemination of a clonal strain, all 90 isolates were analyzed by ribotyping. Seventeen distinct E. coli ribogroups were identified, with CHL resistance observed among the isolates in all except one of the major ribogroups. The identification of the cmlA gene among diverse hemolytic enterotoxigenic E. coli strains demonstrates its broad dissemination in the swine production environment and its persistence even in the absence of CHL selection pressure.
* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center, USDA/ARS, 2881 F-B Rd., College Station, TX 77845. Phone: (979) 260-9306. Fax: (979) 260-9332. E-mail:
bischoff{at}ffsru.tamu.edu.
Journal of Clinical Microbiology, February 2002, p. 389-394, Vol. 40, No. 2
0095-1137/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JCM.40.2.389-394.2002
Copyright © 2002, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Rosengren, L. B., Waldner, C. L., Reid-Smith, R. J.
(2009). Associations between Antimicrobial Resistance Phenotypes, Antimicrobial Resistance Genes, and Virulence Genes of Fecal Escherichia coli Isolates from Healthy Grow-Finish Pigs. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
75: 1373-1380
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Millar, M., Philpott, A., Wilks, M., Whiley, A., Warwick, S., Hennessy, E., Coen, P., Kempley, S., Stacey, F., Costeloe, K.
(2008). Colonization and Persistence of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Strains in Infants Nursed in Two Neonatal Intensive Care Units in East London, United Kingdom. J. Clin. Microbiol.
46: 560-567
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Travis, R. M., Gyles, C. L., Reid-Smith, R., Poppe, C., McEwen, S. A., Friendship, R., Janecko, N., Boerlin, P.
(2006). Chloramphenicol and kanamycin resistance among porcine Escherichia coli in Ontario. J Antimicrob Chemother
58: 173-177
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Kehrenberg, C., Schwarz, S.
(2006). Distribution of Florfenicol Resistance Genes fexA and cfr among Chloramphenicol-Resistant Staphylococcus Isolates.. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
50: 1156-1163
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Wu, B., Xia, C., Du, X., Cao, X., Shen, J.
(2006). Influence of Anti-FloR Antibody on Florfenicol Accumulation in Florfenicol-Resistant Escherichia coli and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detection of Florfenicol-Resistant E. coli Isolates. J. Clin. Microbiol.
44: 378-382
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Poole, T. L., Callaway, T. R., Bischoff, K. M., Warnes, C. E., Nisbet, D. J.
(2006). Macrolide inactivation gene cluster mphA-mrx-mphR adjacent to a class 1 integron in Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from a diarrhoeic pig in Oklahoma. J Antimicrob Chemother
57: 31-38
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Boerlin, P., Travis, R., Gyles, C. L., Reid-Smith, R., Heather Lim, N. J., Nicholson, V., McEwen, S. A., Friendship, R., Archambault, M.
(2005). Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Genes of Escherichia coli Isolates from Swine in Ontario. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.
71: 6753-6761
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Poole, K.
(2005). Efflux-mediated antimicrobial resistance. J Antimicrob Chemother
56: 20-51
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Maynard, C., Bekal, S., Sanschagrin, F., Levesque, R. C., Brousseau, R., Masson, L., Lariviere, S., Harel, J.
(2004). Heterogeneity among Virulence and Antimicrobial Resistance Gene Profiles of Extraintestinal Escherichia coli Isolates of Animal and Human Origin. J. Clin. Microbiol.
42: 5444-5452
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Singer, R. S., Patterson, S. K., Meier, A. E., Gibson, J. K., Lee, H. L., Maddox, C. W.
(2004). Relationship between Phenotypic and Genotypic Florfenicol Resistance in Escherichia coli. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
48: 4047-4049
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Yang, H., Chen, S., White, D. G., Zhao, S., McDermott, P., Walker, R., Meng, J.
(2004). Characterization of Multiple-Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolates from Diseased Chickens and Swine in China. J. Clin. Microbiol.
42: 3483-3489
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Maynard, C., Fairbrother, J. M., Bekal, S., Sanschagrin, F., Levesque, R. C., Brousseau, R., Masson, L., Lariviere, S., Harel, J.
(2003). Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli O149:K91 Isolates Obtained over a 23-Year Period from Pigs. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
47: 3214-3221
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Sanchez, S., McCrackin Stevenson, M. A., Hudson, C. R., Maier, M., Buffington, T., Dam, Q., Maurer, J. J.
(2002). Characterization of Multidrug-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolates Associated with Nosocomial Infections in Dogs. J. Clin. Microbiol.
40: 3586-3595
[Abstract]
[Full Text]