Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences

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Detection of Escherichia fergusonii - an emerging pathogen harbouring drug resistant genes from seafood samples of Tamil Nadu, India


Affiliations
1 Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu – 611 002, India
2 Madras Institute of Magnetobiology (MIM), Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 040, India

Escherichia fergusonii harbouring drug resistant genes was isolated from seafood samples of Tamil Nadu, India while attempting to isolate Escherichia coli. Isolation of STEC was done by enrichment and plating on MacConkey agar MUG and sorbitol negative colonies were confirmed by IMViC test and by an automated system (Vitek-2 compact, BioMerieux, France). Antibiotic sensitivity test was performed by disc diffusion method and by PCR for antibiotic resistance genes. A total of 302 presumptive E. coli was isolated, of which 126 isolates were confirmed as E. coli. Few isolates could not ferment sorbitol and produce β-glucuronidase, and these were confirmed as presumptive E. coli O157:H7. However, two isolates were positive for adonitol and therefore confirmed as E. fergusonii (E011 and E060). The two isolates were sorbitol and lactose negative and adonitol, amygdalin and cellobiose positive. The isolates could not produce the enzyme β-glucuronidase. The isolates were then confirmed as E. fergusonii by gene specific PCR assay and 16S rDNA sequencing. ESBL studies showed that both the isolates harbour blaTEM. Presence of drug resistance and ESBL in E. fergusonii isolated from seafood samples is a matter of public health concern, as the resistance could enter the food chain and hinder the effectiveness of drugs used for treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of E. fergusonii harbouring drug resistance genes from seafood samples of Tamil Nadu, India.

Keywords

Antibiotic resistance, Drug resistance, ESBL, Escherichia fergusonii, Public health, Seafood
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  • Detection of Escherichia fergusonii - an emerging pathogen harbouring drug resistant genes from seafood samples of Tamil Nadu, India

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Authors

B Chrisolite
Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu – 611 002, India
G Sugumar
Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu – 611 002, India
S Sivakumar
Madras Institute of Magnetobiology (MIM), Chennai, Tamil Nadu – 600 040, India
A Angela Mercy
Tamil Nadu Dr. J. Jayalalithaa Fisheries University, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu – 611 002, India

Abstract


Escherichia fergusonii harbouring drug resistant genes was isolated from seafood samples of Tamil Nadu, India while attempting to isolate Escherichia coli. Isolation of STEC was done by enrichment and plating on MacConkey agar MUG and sorbitol negative colonies were confirmed by IMViC test and by an automated system (Vitek-2 compact, BioMerieux, France). Antibiotic sensitivity test was performed by disc diffusion method and by PCR for antibiotic resistance genes. A total of 302 presumptive E. coli was isolated, of which 126 isolates were confirmed as E. coli. Few isolates could not ferment sorbitol and produce β-glucuronidase, and these were confirmed as presumptive E. coli O157:H7. However, two isolates were positive for adonitol and therefore confirmed as E. fergusonii (E011 and E060). The two isolates were sorbitol and lactose negative and adonitol, amygdalin and cellobiose positive. The isolates could not produce the enzyme β-glucuronidase. The isolates were then confirmed as E. fergusonii by gene specific PCR assay and 16S rDNA sequencing. ESBL studies showed that both the isolates harbour blaTEM. Presence of drug resistance and ESBL in E. fergusonii isolated from seafood samples is a matter of public health concern, as the resistance could enter the food chain and hinder the effectiveness of drugs used for treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of E. fergusonii harbouring drug resistance genes from seafood samples of Tamil Nadu, India.

Keywords


Antibiotic resistance, Drug resistance, ESBL, Escherichia fergusonii, Public health, Seafood