Multidrug resistance and class 1 integron presence in Escherichia coli isolates from a polluted drainage ditch’s water

ABSTRACT

The impact of contamination of water drainage ditches in the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been scarcely studied in Mexico. In this regard, 101 isolates of E. coli were obtained from water samples from a ditch in Sinaloa, during one year. The antimicrobial resistant profiles, the presence of the class 1 integron and evolutionary relationship of intI1 sequences were determined. The 47.5% of strains were resistant and 5.9% multidrug resistant (MDR) with an average multiple antibiotic resistance index value of 0.45. The highest resistance was registered with β-lactam (39.6%) and quinolone (9.9%). The intI1 gene was detected in 11.9% of the isolates, and no association with MDR was found. Sequence were associated with human and animal host isolates. MDR E. coli isolates with intI1 gene highlight the potential risk of the ditch’s water to human health. An attenuation effect of MDR E. coli isolates in the outlet water was observed.

KEYWORDS:

• Anthropogenic pollution
• antibiotic resistance
• aquatic environment
• intI1
• E coli

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Council for Science and Technology, Mexico [Consejo Nacional de Ciencia yTecnología] (CONACYT I010/214/2012), and the German Academic Exchange Service [DAAD U455D813 KTR].