Description of OXA-244 carbapenemase-producing Escherichia coli in farm animals in The Netherlands, 2024

Abstract

Background: To minimize the risk of livestock becoming a reservoir of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE), it is prohibited to use carbapenems in food-producing animals in Europe. Nonetheless, CPE have been detected in several EU countries in pigs, poultry and cattle. Objectives: To detect and characterize CPE from farm animals in the Netherlands obtained within the European monitoring programme for antimicrobial resistance in animals and food. Methods: Caecal samples from livestock animals are screened for the presence of CPE according to the recommended EURL-AR protocol and supplementary molecular screening. WGS was used to further study the isolates and compare with human-derived CPE. Results: In 2024, two CPE isolates were detected in caecal samples from a pig and a broiler. Both were Escherichia coli producing OXA-244 and showed reduced susceptibility to meropenem, imipenem and ertapenem. WGS confirmed the presence of blaOXA-244 gene on a chromosomally located IS-element. Although both isolates belonged to ST58 and were genetically similar, neither represented a clonal relationship with each other, nor with human-associated OXA-244-producing E. coli from national CPE surveillance. Follow-up investigations on both farms did not reveal additional CPE. Conclusions: The finding of two OXA-244-producing E. coli isolates in livestock caecal samples demonstrates the added value of implementing a more sensitive screening method for detection of CPE with low-level resistance to carbapenems in the European AMR monitoring programme for animals and food.