Emergence of bla_OXA-1- and mph(A)-Producing Vibrio furnissii Isolated from Hospital Sewage

Abstract

Cephalosporins and azithromycin are clinical antibiotics used to treat infections. Co-resistance to cephalosporins and azithromycin has been observed in some Enterobacterales, but it has only rarely been reported in Vibrio species. In this study, we isolated a cephalosporin- and azithromycin-resistant V. furnissii strain, VFN3, from hospital sewage. Whole-genome sequencing results showed that the strain VFN3 possesses an IncA/C2 plasmid, pVFN3-blaOXA-193K. This conjugative plasmid carries several clinically relevant drug resistance genes, including mph(A) and bla_OXA-1. We also found that in the strain VFN3, mph(A) and bla_OXA-1 are surrounded by insertion sequences and class I integrons, respectively. These data suggest that mobile elements mediate the transfer of mph(A) and bla_OXA-1. This is the first reported Vibrio species that possesses an mph(A)- and bla_OXA-1-bearing conjugative plasmid. The emergence of this conjugative multi-drug-resistance plasmid is of great concern to public health.

Keywords:

• mph(A)
• bla_OXA-1
• conjugative plasmid
• Vibrio furnissii

Data Sharing Statement

The complete sequences of strain VFN3 were submitted to the NCBI database with accession numbers CP089603-CP08960.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Cong Hu in Zhuhai People’s Hospital for bacteria isolation. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81650003).

Disclosure

The authors declare no competing interests in this work.