Horizontal antimicrobial resistance transfer drives epidemics of multiple Shigella species

Kate S. Baker (), Timothy J. Dallman, Nigel Field, Tristan Childs, Holly Mitchell, Martin Day, François-Xavier Weill, Sophie Lefèvre, Mathieu Tourdjman, Gwenda Hughes, Claire Jenkins and Nicholas Thomson ()
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Kate S. Baker: University of Liverpool
Timothy J. Dallman: Gastrointestinal Bacterial Reference Unit, National Infection Service, Public Health England
Nigel Field: Institute for Global Health, UCL
Tristan Childs: Public Health England
Holly Mitchell: Institute for Global Health, UCL
Martin Day: Gastrointestinal Bacterial Reference Unit, National Infection Service, Public Health England
François-Xavier Weill: Unité des Bactéries Pathogènes Entériques
Sophie Lefèvre: Unité des Bactéries Pathogènes Entériques
Mathieu Tourdjman: the French Public Health Agency
Gwenda Hughes: Public Health England
Claire Jenkins: Gastrointestinal Bacterial Reference Unit, National Infection Service, Public Health England
Nicholas Thomson: Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Nature Communications, 2018, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Horizontal gene transfer has played a role in developing the global public health crisis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, the dynamics of AMR transfer through bacterial populations and its direct impact on human disease is poorly elucidated. Here, we study parallel epidemic emergences of multiple Shigella species, a priority AMR organism, in men who have sex with men to gain insight into AMR emergence and spread. Using genomic epidemiology, we show that repeated horizontal transfer of a single AMR plasmid among Shigella enhanced existing and facilitated new epidemics. These epidemic patterns contrasted with slighter, slower increases in disease caused by organisms with vertically inherited (chromosomally encoded) AMR. This demonstrates that horizontal transfer of AMR directly affects epidemiological outcomes of globally important AMR pathogens and highlights the need for integration of genomic analyses into all areas of AMR research, surveillance and management.

Date: 2018
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-03949-8

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