[A rare mechanism of resistance to colistin in Escherichia coli isolated from raw poultry meat].

Abstract

Plasmid-mediated resistance to colistin is a recently described phenomenon. The study reports this new type of colistin resistance in food isolates of Escherichia coli in the Czech Republic. Strains with phenotypically determined colistin resistance were studied for presence of the mcr-1 and mcr-2 genes. A positive finding of E. coli harboring the mcr-1 gene was confirmed in a sample of raw minced turkey meat imported from Poland. Two different strains of E. coli carrying the mcr-1 gene were detected in the same sample. This is the first reported case of this type of resistance in E. coli strains isolated from foods at retail in the Czech Republic.