Wide dissemination of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in community residents in the Indochinese peninsula

Recent studies have reported a widespread distribution of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria, not only in the nosocomial setting, but also in the community; some local communities in Southeast Asia have been reported to show a high prevalence of ESBL-producing bacteria. However, the details regarding the quantitative/qualitative state of ESBL-producing bacterial spread in Southeast Asia are currently unclear. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the state of ESBL-producing bacterial spread in community residents from the Indochinese peninsula, as a representative region of Southeast Asia. In order to achieve this aim, local community residents in Laos and Vietnam were examined for fecal carriage of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, and the findings were compared with data from a previous study in Thailand which was conducted in the same manner as this study. Between 47.0%–70.2% of the Laotian and Vietnamese residents carried ESBL-producing CTX-M genotype Enterobacteriaceae. The most common sub-genotypes of CTX-M were CTX-M-1 (33.0%–47.5%) and CTX-M-9 (47.5%–64.1%), and these rates were similar among all three countries. Taken together, these results confirmed that ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae are widely disseminated in Indochinese countries, such as Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.