Occurrence of multidrug-resistant and ESBL-producing atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in China

BACKGROUND: Atypical enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (aEPEC) is regarded as a globally emerging enteropathogen. aEPECs exhibit various level of resistance to a range of antibiotics, which is increasing alarmingly. The present study investigated the antimicrobial resistance of aEPEC isolates recovered from diarrheal patients, healthy carriers, animals, and raw meats. RESULTS: Among 267 aEPEC isolates, 146 (54.7%) were resistant to tetracycline, followed by ampicillin (49.4%), streptomycin (46.1%), and piperacillin (41.2%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was detected in 128 (47.9%) isolates, and 40 MDR isolates were resistant to ≥ 10 antimicrobial agents. A total of 47 (17.6%) aEPEC isolates were identified as extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producers. The bla(CTX-M-14) and bla(CTX-M-15) genes were predominant among ESBL-producing isolates. CONCLUSIONS: This investigation depicted the occurrence of multidrug-resistant and ESBL-producing aEPEC isolates in China. The results suggested that it is necessary to continuously monitor the emergence and spread of MDR aEPEC. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13099-018-0234-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.