AUTHOR=Chomkatekaew Chalita , Thaipadungpanit Janjira , Hearn Pasco , Soeng Sona , Pol Sreymom , Neou Leakhena , Hopkins Jill , Turner Paul , Batty Elizabeth M. 

TITLE=Detection of maternal transmission of resistant Gram-negative bacteria in a Cambodian hospital setting

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1158056

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2023.1158056

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Infection with Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase -producing <italic>Enterobacterales</italic> (ESBL-E) is common in infants and leads to increased intensive care unit admission and mortality, but the role of maternal transmission in colonization of infants is unclear. Using paired isolates from 50 pairs of mothers and neonates admitted to a Cambodian hospital, we investigated antimicrobial resistance in <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> and <italic>Klebsiella pneumoniae</italic> using whole genome sequencing. We detected a wide variety of ESBL-E genes present in this population along with high levels of multidrug resistance. From 21 pairs where the same organism was present in both mother and neonate, we identified eight pairs with identical or near-identical isolates from both individuals suggestive of transmission at or around birth, including a pair with transmission of multiple strains. We found no evidence for transmission of plasmids only from mother to infant. This suggests vertical transmission outside hospitals as a common cause of ESBL-E colonization in neonates.</p>