Multicenter prospective study on the prevalence of colistin resistance in Escherichia coli: relevance of mcr-1-positive clinical isolates in Lombardy Northern Italy

摘要

BackgroundThe emergence of the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mechanism in Escherichia coli has raised concern among public health experts as colistin is a last-line antimicrobial resort. The primary aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence of this resistance trait in E. coli isolates circulating in the Lombardy region, Northern Italy. The presence of mcr-type genes and their genetic relationship were also studied.