Identity of bla(CTX-M) Carrying Plasmids in Sequential ESBL-E. coli Isolates from Patients with Recurrent Urinary Tract Infections

Plasmid-mediated multidrug resistance in E. coli is becoming increasingly prevalent. Considering this global threat to human health, it is important to understand how plasmid-mediated resistance spreads. From a cohort of 123 patients with recurrent urinary tract infections (RUTI) due to extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL E. coli), only five events with a change of ESBL E. coli strain between RUTI episodes were identified. Their bla(CTX-M) encoding plasmids were compared within each pair of isolates using optical DNA mapping (ODM) and PCR-based replicon typing. Despite similar bla(CTX-M) genes and replicon types, ODM detected only one case with identical plasmids in the sequential ESBL E. coli strains, indicating that plasmid transfer could have occurred. For comparison, plasmids from seven patients with the same ESBL E. coli strain reoccurring in both episodes were analyzed. These plasmids (encoding bla(CTX-M-3), bla(CTX-M-14), and bla(CTX-M-15)) were unaltered for up to six months between recurrent infections. Thus, transmission of bla(CTX-M) plasmids appears to be a rare event during the course of RUTI. Despite the limited number (n = 23) of plasmids investigated, similar bla(CTX-M)-(15) plasmids in unrelated isolates from different patients were detected, suggesting that some successful plasmids could be associated with specific strains, or are more easily transmitted.