PCR screening of antimicrobial resistance genes in faecal samples from Australian and Chinese children

Joshua T Ravensdale; Darren Ten Wei Xian; Chooi Ming Wei; Quanjun Lv; Xiajie Wen; Jing Guo; Ranil Coorey; Peter LeSouëf; Fengmin Lu; Guicheng Zhang; Gary A Dykes

doi:10.1016/j.jgar.2018.03.003

PCR screening of antimicrobial resistance genes in faecal samples from Australian and Chinese children

J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2018 Sep:14:178-181. doi: 10.1016/j.jgar.2018.03.003. Epub 2018 Mar 31.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia. Electronic address: Joshua.ravensdale@curtin.edu.au.
² School of Public Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia; Temasek Polytechnic, School of Applied Science, 21 Tampines Avenue 1, Singapore 52975, Singapore.
³ Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China.
⁴ Centre for Genetic Origins of Health and Disease, The University of Western Australia and Curtin University, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁵ School of Public Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia; Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
⁶ School of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.
⁷ Beijing University, Beijing, China.
⁸ School of Public Health, Curtin University, Kent Street, Perth, WA 6102, Australia; Centre for Genetic Origins of Health and Disease, The University of Western Australia and Curtin University, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia; School of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia.

PMID: 29614373
DOI: 10.1016/j.jgar.2018.03.003

Abstract

Objectives: Recent public awareness campaigns on the risk of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic microbes has placed pressure on governments to enforce stricter antimicrobial stewardship policies on hospitals and the agricultural industry. In this study, faecal samples from Australian and Chinese children were screened for the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in order to identify demographics at risk of carriage of these genes and to examine antimicrobial stewardship policies from the two countries that may influence carriage.

Methods: Faecal samples from 46 Australian and 53 Chinese children were screened by PCR for the presence of six clinically relevant ARGs. Clinical and demographic data were also collected from each patient.

Results: More than 90% of faecal samples from Chinese children tested positive for β-lactam, macrolide, tetracycline and aminoglycoside resistance genes, which was substantially higher than Australian samples. Besides country of origin, no clear trend could be seen to predict carriage of ARGs. The exception to this was Chinese-born children who immigrated to Australia having higher rates of carriage of bla_TEM and tetM genes than children born and still living in Australia.

Conclusions: These data indicate that Chinese children are more likely to carry certain ARGs than Australian children. The Chinese government has recently implemented strict policies to control the overuse of antibiotics in hospitals. However, many of these policies do not extend to the agricultural industry, which could explain the differences seen in this study.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance genes; Antimicrobial stewardship; PCR screening.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Asian People
Australia / epidemiology
Bacterial Proteins / genetics*
Carrier State / ethnology*
Carrier State / microbiology
Child
Child, Preschool
China / epidemiology
Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial / genetics*
Feces / microbiology*
Female
Healthy Volunteers
Humans
Male
Polymerase Chain Reaction
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics

Substances

Bacterial Proteins
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S