Abstract
WaterborneEscherichia coliare a major reservoir of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Carbapenem-resistance, especially when mediated by transferable carbapenemase-encoding genes, is spreading worldwide and causing dramatically limiting treatment options. In our country, studies for the detection of carbapenem resistance in drinking water do not exist; therefore, this work was carried out to determine the prevalence of carbapenem-resistant genes "bla(KPC), bla(IMP), bla(NDM), bla(SPM), bla(VIM), and bla(OXA-48)" amongEscherichia coliisolated from drinking water in Khartoum, Sudan. A total of forty-fiveE. colibacteria were isolated from different sources of drinking water. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using imipenem (10 mg/disc), gentamicin (10 mg/disc), ceftriaxone (30 mg/disc), ciprofloxacin (5 mg/disc), chloramphenicol (30 mg/disc), and tetracycline (30 mg/disc). "Sensitive" or "resistant" patterns ofE. coliwere judged using antibiotic minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). Bacterial genomic DNA was extracted by the boiling method, and then multiplex polymerase chain reaction was performed to detect the carbapenemase genes (bla(KPC), bla(IMP),bla(NDM), bla(SPM), bla(VIM), and bla(OXA-48)). Multiplex PCR assays confirmed the presence of carbapenemase genes in 28% of all water isolates. OXA-48 gene was the most predominant gene, detected in 15.5% of the isolates. The bla(KPC)andbla(SPM)genes were also detected in 4.4% and 8.8% of the isolates, respectively. However, the isolates were negative forbla(NDM), bla(VIM), and bla(IMP)genes. The isolates showed a high rate of tetracycline resistance (97.7%), followed by gentamicin (57.7%), ciprofloxacin (46.6%), ceftriaxone (35.5%), and chloramphenicol (31.1%). In conclusion, this study confirmed for the first time the presence ofE. colicarried carbapenem-resistant genes in the drinking water of Khartoum state, Sudan. These isolates commonly carried OXA-48 (7/45), followed by SPM (4/45) and KPC (2/45).