Characterization of Escherichia coli Carrying mcr-1-Plasmids Recovered From Food Animals From Argentina

In this study, we found mcr-1.1 and mcr-1.5 genes carried by IncI2 plasmids in a subset of Escherichia coli isolates recovered from commercial broiler farms in Argentina. The comparative analysis of the sequences of these plasmids with those described in human clinical isolates suggests that this replicon-type is one of the main mcr-disseminator sources in Argentina

Whole-Genome Sequencing Applied to the Molecular Epidemiology of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli O157:H7 in Argentina

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli strains are worldwide associated with sporadic human infections and outbreaks. In this work, we report the availability of high-quality draft whole-genome sequences for 19 O157:H7 strains isolated in Argentina.Fil: Masana, Marcelo Oscar. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Carbonari, Claudia Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas-ANLIS ‘‘Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán’’. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina.Fil: Fittipaldi, Nahuel. Public Health Ontario. Toronto Laboratories; Canada. University of Toronto. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology; Canada.Fil: Teatero, Sarah. Public Health Ontario. Toronto Laboratories; Canada.Fil: Athey, Taryn B. T. Public Health Ontario. Toronto Laboratories; Canada.Fil: Pianciola, Luis. Subsecretaría de Salud de Neuquén. Laboratorio Central; Argentina.Fil: Melano, Roberto G. Public Health Ontario. Toronto Laboratories; Canada. University of Toronto. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology; Canada.Fil: Rivas, Marta. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas-ANLIS ‘‘Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán’’. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina.Fil: Chinen, Isabel. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas-ANLIS ‘‘Dr. Carlos G. Malbrán’’. Servicio Fisiopatogenia; Argentina

Evaluation of Melting Curve Analysis for Screening the Most Prevalent Mutations in Topoisomerase Genes from Streptococcus pneumoniae

Reply to the letter "Evaluation of Melting Curve Analysis for Screening the Most Prevalent Mutations in Topoisomerase Genes from Streptococcus pneumoniae", Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 2008, p. 396-397, Vol. 46, No. 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01924-0

1st isolation of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium with the vanB genotype in Argentina: presentation of 2 cases

Fil: Miranda, G. Laboratorio de Microbiología, Policlínico Bancario; Argentina.Fil: Corso, Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Melano, Roberto. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Arismendi, P. Laboratorio de Microbiología, Policlínico Bancario; Argentina.Fil: Rodriguez, Marcelo. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Garbervetsky, L. Laboratorio de Microbiología, Policlínico Bancario; Argentina.We describe the first isolate of van B vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Argentina. The strains were recovered from ambulatory patients admitted to a hospital of Buenos Aires city in July 2000. They were not high-risk patients, they had not received previous antibiotic therapy, and they were assisted in different services. MICs for vancomycin were 32 micrograms/ml for both strains, whereas MICs for teicoplanin were 0.12 microgram/ml in case 1 and 0.25 microgram/ml in case 2. PCR was performed to confirm the vanB genotype. The molecular fingerprints of the isolations by PFGE revealed that they were identical. No further VanB strains were isolated in the hospital

1st isolation of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium with the vanB genotype in Argentina: presentation of 2 cases

Fil: Miranda, G. Laboratorio de Microbiología, Policlínico Bancario; Argentina.Fil: Corso, Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Melano, Roberto. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Arismendi, P. Laboratorio de Microbiología, Policlínico Bancario; Argentina.Fil: Rodriguez, Marcelo. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Garbervetsky, L. Laboratorio de Microbiología, Policlínico Bancario; Argentina.We describe the first isolate of van B vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Argentina. The strains were recovered from ambulatory patients admitted to a hospital of Buenos Aires city in July 2000. They were not high-risk patients, they had not received previous antibiotic therapy, and they were assisted in different services. MICs for vancomycin were 32 micrograms/ml for both strains, whereas MICs for teicoplanin were 0.12 microgram/ml in case 1 and 0.25 microgram/ml in case 2. PCR was performed to confirm the vanB genotype. The molecular fingerprints of the isolations by PFGE revealed that they were identical. No further VanB strains were isolated in the hospital

Molecular characterization of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Ontario, Canada, 2008-2011.

Due to the lack of detailed reports of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing enterobacteria in Ontario, Canada, we perform a molecular characterization of KPC-producing Enterobacteriaceae submitted to the provincial reference laboratory from 2008 to 2011. Susceptibility profiles were accessed by E-test. Molecular types of isolates were determined by pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing. Screening of ß-lactamase genes was performed by multiplex PCR and alleles were identified by DNA sequencing. The genetic platform of blaKPC gene was analyzed by PCR. Plasmid replicons were typed using PCR-based typing approach. KPC-plasmids were also evaluated by S1 nuclease-PFGE and Southern blot. Thirty unique clinical isolates (26 Klebsiella pneumoniae, 2 Enterobacter cloacae, 1 Citrobacter freundii and 1 Raoultella ornithinolytica) were identified as blaKPC positive: 4 in 2008, 3 in 2009, 10 in 2010 and 13 in 2011. The majority exhibited resistance to carbapenems, cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones and two isolates were also resistant to colistin. The isolates harbored blaKPC-2 (n = 23) or blaKPC-3 (n = 7). blaTEM-1 (n = 27) was commonly detected and occasionally blaOXA-1 (n = 3) and blaCTX-M-15 (n = 1). As expected, all K. pneumoniae isolates carried blaSHV-11. blaKPC genes were identified on Tn4401a (n = 20) or b (n = 10) isoforms, on plasmids of different sizes belonging to the incompatibility groups IncFIIA (n = 19), IncN (n = 3), IncI2 (n = 3), IncFrep (n = 2) and IncA/C (n = 1). The occurrence of KPC ß-lactamase in Ontario was mainly associated with the spread of the K. pneumoniae clone ST258

Use of whole genome sequencing for the molecular comparison of Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates with decreased susceptibility to extended spectrum cephalosporins from two geographically different regions in America

Fil: Gianecini, Ricardo A. Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto; Canada.Fil: Zittermann, Sandra. Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto; Canada.Fil: Oviedo, Claudia . ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Departamento de Bacteriología; Argentina.Fil: Galas, Marcelo F. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas; Argentina.Fil: Ramon Pardo, Pilar. Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/ WHO), Washington, DC; Estados Unidos.Fil: Allen, Vanessa G. Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto; Canada.Fil: Galarza, Patricia G. Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto; Canada.Fil: Melano, Roberto. Public Health Ontario Laboratories, Toronto; Canada.Neisseria gonorrhoeae isolates with reduced susceptibility or resistance to the recommended first-line antimicrobial therapy have been described in several countries. The purpose of this study was to use genome analyses to compare the molecular characteristics of N. gonorrhoeae isolates with decreased susceptibility to extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC) from Ontario, Canada, and Argentina

Molecular characteristics of mcr-1-carrying plasmids and new mcr-1 variant recovered from polyclonal clinical Escherichia coli from Argentina and Canada.

We have characterized nine mcr-1-harboring plasmids from clinical Escherichia coli isolates previously described in Argentina and Canada. Three of these plasmids carried a mcr-1-variant called here mcr-1.5. All these E. coli isolates were not clonally related and were recovered in different years and locations. However, their mcr-1-harboring plasmids showed high identity among them and to others characterized in other countries, which strongly suggests that this plasmid-type is playing an important role in spreading this mechanism of resistance to polymyxins

Molecular epidemiology of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Argentina

Fil: Corso, Alejandra. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Gagetti, Paula. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Rodríguez, Marisa M. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Melano, Roberto. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Ceriana, Paola G. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Faccone, Diego. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: Galas, Marcelo F. ANLIS Dr.C.G.Malbrán. Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas. Servicio Antimicrobianos; Argentina.Fil: The VRE Argentinean Collaborative Group; Argentina.OBJECTIVE To characterize the mechanism of glycopeptide resistance and to determine the genetic relatedness among strains by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) in vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium from Argentina. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 189 vancomycin-resistant single-patient isolates of Enterococcus faecium recovered between January 1997 and December 2000 from 30 hospitals in Argentina were studied. Minimum inhibitory concentrations were determined by the agar dilution method and van genes were detected by PCR. PFGE was used for molecular typing. RESULTS All isolates except three (vanB) were of genotype vanA. For 189 vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, SmaI-PFGE indicated 35 clonal types. Most of the isolates (56%) belonged to the same clonal type 1, which was present in 19 hospitals and dominant in 17. CONCLUSIONS The emergence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium in Argentina seems to be related to the intra- and inter-hospital dissemination of an epidemic clone carrying the vanA element