First Detection of Human ST131-CTX-M-15-O25-B2 Clone and High-Risk Clonal Lineages of ESBL/pAmpC-Producing E. coli Isolates from Diarrheic Poultry in Tunisia

Circulation of a multi-resistance clone of bacteria associated with genetic elements in diseased animals constitutes a global public health problem. Our study focused on the characterization of the support of ESBL in cefotaxime resistant E. coli (CTX(R)) isolates recovered from poultry with diarrhea, analysis of their clonal lineage, and virulence-associated genes. The study was carried out on 130 samples of chickens with diarrhea, collected in 2015 from poultry farms in Tunisia. Isolates of 20 CTX(R) E. coli strains were identified as ESBL and AmpC β- lactamase producers. The following β-lactamase genes (number of isolates) were detected: bla(CTX-M-15)+ bla(OXA1) (4), bla(CTX-M-15) + bla(OXA1) + bla(TEM-1b) (2), bla(CTX-M-1) + bla(TEM-1b) (9), bla(CTX-M-1) (2), bla(CMY2) + bla(TEM-1b) (3). Six E. coli harboring bla(CTXM-15) were allocated to ST131-B2-O25b-; six and three bla(CTX-M-1) were grouped in ST155, ST10, and ST58, respectively, related to the phylogroup D and A. The qnrB gene, the variant aac(6′)-Ib-cr, and the class 1 integrons with different gene cassettes, were detected amongst our 20 isolated strains, which were classified as ExPEC and aEPEC. Our findings highlighted the emergence of the human pandemic ST131-CTX-M-15-O25-B2 clone and the high risk of such clonal lineage strains in diarrheic poultry, in Tunisia, which could constitute a risk of their transfer to healthy animals and humans.