Poultry and Wild Birds as a Reservoir of CMY-2 Producing <i>Escherichia coli</i>: The First Large-Scale Study in Greece

• Main Authors: Zoi Athanasakopoulou, Katerina Tsilipounidaki, Marina Sofia, Dimitris C. Chatzopoulos, Alexios Giannakopoulos, Ioannis Karakousis, Vassilios Giannakis, Vassiliki Spyrou, Antonia Touloudi, Maria Satra, Dimitrios Galamatis, Vassilis Diamantopoulos, Spyridoula Mpellou, Efthymia Petinaki, Charalambos Billinis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-02-01
• Series: Antibiotics
• Subjects: <i>Escherichia coli</i>; AmpC β-lactamases; antimicrobial resistance; CMY-2 type; ISE<i>cp1</i>; chickens
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/10/3/235

Resistance mediated by β-lactamases is a globally spread menace. The aim of the present study was to determine the occurrence of <i>Escherichia coli</i> producing plasmid-encoded AmpC β-lactamases (pAmpC) in animals. Fecal samples from chickens (n = 159), cattle (n = 104), pigs (n = 214), and various wild bird species (n = 168), collected from different Greek regions during 2018–2020, were screened for the presence of pAmpC-encoding genes. Thirteen <i>E. coli</i> displaying resistance to third-generation cephalosporins and a positive AmpC confirmation test were detected. <i>bla</i>_CMY-2 was the sole pAmpC gene identified in 12 chickens’ and 1 wild bird (Eurasian magpie) isolates and was in all cases linked to an upstream ISE<i>cp1</i>-like element. The isolates were classified into five different sequence types: ST131, ST117, ST155, ST429, and ST1415. Four chickens’ stains were assigned to ST131, while five chickens’ strains and the one from the Eurasian magpie belonged to ST117. Seven pAmpC isolates co-harbored genes conferring resistance to tetracyclines (<i>tetM, tetB, tetC, tetD</i>), 3 carried sulfonamide resistance genes (<i>sul</i>I and <i>sul</i>II), and 10 displayed mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining regions of <i>gyrA</i> (S83L+D87N) and <i>parC</i> (S80I+E84V). This report provides evidence of pAmpC dissemination, describing for the first time the presence of CMY-2 in chickens and wild birds from Greece.