Detection of carbapenemases in Enterobacterales and other Gram-negative bacilli recovered from hospital and municipal wastewater in Mexico City

• Published in: Scientific reports 2024-11, Vol.14 (1), p.26576-8, Article 26576
• Main Authors: Urzua-Abad, Maria Magdalena, Aquino-Andrade, Alejandra, Castelan-Vega, Juan Arturo, Merida-Vieyra, Jocelin, Ribas-Aparicio, Rosa Maria, Belmont-Monroy, Laura, Jimenez-Alberto, Alicia, Aparicio-Ozores, Gerardo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/326; 704/158; 704/172; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Antimicrobial agents; Automation; Bacteria; Bacterial Proteins - genetics; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; beta-Lactamases - genetics; beta-Lactamases - metabolism; Carbapenemase; Carbapenems; Drug resistance; E coli; Enterobacterales; Enterobacteriaceae - drug effects; Enterobacteriaceae - enzymology; Enterobacteriaceae - genetics; Enterobacteriaceae - isolation & purification; Epidemiology; Gene amplification; Gram-negative bacilli; Gram-negative bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacteria - drug effects; Gram-Negative Bacteria - enzymology; Gram-Negative Bacteria - genetics; Gram-Negative Bacteria - isolation & purification; Health risks; Hospitals; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Laboratories; Medical wastes; Mexico; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; multidisciplinary; Municipal wastewater; Public health; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Wastewater; Wastewater - microbiology
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-76824-w

Wastewater serves as a reservoir for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. This study revealed the presence of carbapenem-resistant and carbapenemase-producing Gram-negative bacilli (GNB), established clonal relationships among isolates in hospital and municipal wastewater, and identified a high-risk clone in municipal wastewater. A total of 63 isolates of GNB were obtained, with Enterobacterales being the most frequently isolated group (62%). Carbapenemase-producing Lelliottia amnigena , Kluyvera cryocrescens , and Shewanella putrefaciens isolates were documented for the first time in Mexico. The detectableted carbapenemase genes were bla KPC (55%), bla NDM (12%), bla VIM−2 (12%), bla OXA−48 (4%), bla GES (2%), bla NDM−1 (2%), and bla NDM−5 (2%). Clonal relationships were observed among Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter spp. isolates, and remarkably the high-risk clone Escherichia coli ST361, carrying bla NDM−5 , was identified. This study demonstrates that wastewater harbours carbapenem-resistant and carbapenemase-producing bacteria, posing a public health threat that requires epidemiological surveillance.