Emergence of plasmid-borne bla (oxa-181) gene in Ochrobactrum intermedium: first report from India

Wastewater has become a potential habitat for multi-drug-resistant bacteria. The present study aims to screen for the presence of carbapenem-resistant bacteria in sewage water samples collected from hospital and non-hospital sources. From a total of 19 sewage water samples collected, 100 carbapenem-resistant non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria (CR-NF-GNB) were isolated using MacConkey agar cultured with 8 mg l(−1) of meropenem. On screening for beta-lactamase resistance genes (bla (NDM), bla (OXA-48-like), bla (IMP), bla (VIM) and bla (KPC)), one isolate, Ochrobactrum intermedium , was found to carry the plasmid-borne bla (OXA-48-like) gene. To the best of our knowledge, we provide the first report of the rare and emerging opportunistic pathogen Ochrobactrum intermedium encoding the OXA-181 gene in its plasmid.