Antimicrobial Resistance and Molecular Characterization of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli Isolated from Ducks in South Korea

Ducks are potential carriers of pathogenic bacteria, which are capable of transmitting zoonotic diseases to humans. The global spread of Enterobacteriaceae carrying extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) genes is a public health concern. This study investigated the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from ducks in Korea and described the molecular characteristics of the ESBLs they produced. A total of 146 E. coli isolates from 404 duck fecal and carcass samples in 85 duck farms were tested for antimicrobial resistance using the broth dilution method and were further characterized using molecular methods. We observed high resistance rates to tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, nalidixic acid, ampicillin, and ciprofloxacin. In total, six ceftiofur-resistant isolates (4.1%) were observed, which produced CTX-M-55 (n = 3) or CTX-M-65 beta-lactamase (n = 3). All CTX-M-producing E. coli isolates were also resistant to ciprofloxacin, with mutations in the quinolone resistance determining region of GyrA (S83L with or without D87N) and ParC (S80I), and three CTX-M-producing E. coli isolates carried plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) genes, qepA (n = 1), qnrS, and acc(6 ')-Ib-cr (n = 2). The transfer of bla(CTX-M) genes was observed in one isolate mediated by IncF-family plasmids but not in the co-resistant isolates carrying both bla(CTX-M) and PMQR genes. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing demonstrated that CTX-M-producing isolates were heterogeneous; however, identical isolates were found in different farms and slaughterhouses. This study presents baseline data on antimicrobial resistance of E. coli derived from duck samples and is the first report of CTX-M-55 and CTX-M-65 beta-lactamase-producing E. coli isolated from ducks in Korea. The dissemination of ESBL-producing E. coli poses a potential risk to public health and therefore should be monitored.