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From clinics to sewers: leveraging environmental surveillance and whole genome sequencing to inform transmission of ESBL-Escherichia coli in Switzerland

Conforti, S.; du Plessis, L.; Bagutti, C.; Becker, J.; Brugger, S.; Cusini, A.; Egli, A.; Gaia, V.; Greub, G.; Guler, C.; Huisman, J. S.; Kocher, C.; Kouyos, R. D.; Leuzinger, K.; Maffioli, C.; Neacsu, M.; Nolte, O.; Ramette, A.; Seiffert, S. N.; Tschudin-Sutter, S.; Zumthor, J. P.; Stadler, T.; Julian, T. R.

2025-09-14 epidemiology
10.1101/2025.09.12.25335617 medRxiv
Show abstract

Extended-spectrum {beta}-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli is a major antimicrobial resistance concern spreading across human, animal, and environmental domains. To assess between-source transitions, we analysed 762 ESBL-E. coli genomes collected from wastewater (used as a community shedding indicator), clinical settings, cattle, and wildlife across Switzerland (2021-2023). ST131 was the most prevalent sequence type (ST), and 76% of isolates carried resistance to at least two antibiotic classes in addition to {beta}-lactams. Phylogenetic analysis showed isolates were interspersed across sources, yet genetically similar strains were more common within compartments. Clonal isolates (0 SNPs) were rarely shared (n = 2) between wastewater and corresponding clinics. Ancestral state reconstruction revealed compartmentalization of isolates between wastewater and clinics across the whole phylogeny. However, this pattern disappears within human-associated ST131, ST69, ST1193, highlighting exchange between clinics and communities. These findings show that wastewater surveillance captures community circulation of ESBL-E. coli, which overlap with circulating clinically-relevant strains.

Published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology (predicted rank #17) · training set

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