Key points:
- Researchers have discovered a new type of E. coli that is highly infectious and resistant to certain antibiotics called carbapenems.
- Compared with carbapenem-resistant E. coli (CREC) strains, a version of the ST410 strain called B5/H24RxC grows faster and is more harmful.
- The team used isolates derived from various urine, sputum, and blood samples collected at hospitals across Chinese provinces and found that the ST410 strain was the most common resistant strain.
Researchers have discovered a new type of E. coli that is highly infectious and resistant to certain antibiotics called carbapenems. A new study, published in Nature Communications, describes the mutation leading to this new antibiotic-resistant E. coli.
Previous research has identified strains of carbapenem-resistant E. coli (CREC) and determined these strains to be among the most problematic antibiotic resistant strains in circulation. In the current study, researchers identified a stronger and more infectious version of ST410 CREC—B5/H24xC—that likely contributed to two outbreaks in a children’s hospital in China.
Their analysis found that the B5/H24RxC strain grows faster and is more harmful to living organisms than previous versions.
“This is a worrying new trend and we would now urge surveillance labs across the world to be on the lookout for this new clone which we know has spread beyond China,” explained study author Alan McNally, professor at University of Birmingham.
To determine the spread of antibiotic-resistant E. coli, the team used 388 CREC isolates derived from various urine, sputum, and blood samples collected at hospitals across 26 Chinese provinces between 2017 and 2021. They found that ST410 was the most common CREC. They also identified a potential connection between CREC and urinary tract infections as the highest proportion of samples were taken from urine.
“Our study highlights the evolving landscape of antimicrobial resistance with clinically significant pathogens, such as E. coli,” said first author Ibrahim Xiaoling Ba of the University of Cambridge. “This emphasizes the urgent need for collaborative efforts to address and mitigate this escalating challenge in global public health.”