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Plasmid-mediated mcr-1 colistin resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. clinical isolates from the Western Cape region of South Africa.

Mae Newton-FootYolandi SnymanMotlatji Reratilwe Bonnie MalobaAndrew Christopher Whitelaw
Published in: Antimicrobial resistance and infection control (2017)
The plasmid-mediated mcr-1 colistin resistance gene is responsible for the majority of colistin resistance in clinical isolates of E. coli and Klebsiella spp. from the Western Cape of South Africa. Colistin resistance is not clonally disseminated; the mcr-1 gene has been acquired by several unrelated strains of E. coli and K. pneumoniae. Acquisition of mcr-1 by cephalosporin- and carbapenem-resistant Gram negative bacteria may result in untreatable infections and increased mortality. Measures need to be implemented to control the use of colistin in health care facilities and in agriculture to retain its antimicrobial efficacy.
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