Faecal carriage of extended-spectrum b-lactamase-producing and AMpC b-lactamase-producing bacteria among Danish army recruits

During May and June 2008, 84 Danish army recruits were tested for faecal carriage of extended-spectrum b-lactamase (ESBL)- producing and AmpC b-lactamase-producing bacteria. Three ESBL-producing (CTX-M-14a) Escherichia coli isolates, two AmpC-producing (CMY-2) E. coli isolates and one AmpC-producing (CMY-34) Citrobacter freundii isolate were detected.

Two of the CTX-M-14a E. coli isolates had similar pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing profiles, indicating the same origin or transmission between the two army recruits. The blaCTX-M-14a genes were transferable to an E. coli recipient. These commensal bacteria therefore constitute a reservoir of resistance genes that can be transferred to other pathogenic bacteria in the intestine.