RESISTANCE TO CEPHALOSPORINS AND QUINOLONES IN Escherichia coli ISOLATED FROM IRRIGATION WATER FROM THE RÍMAC RIVER IN EAST LIMA, PERU

Objetives. To evaluate the presence and sensitivity to antimicrobials of Escherichia coli strains isolated from 24 irrigation water samples from the Rimac river of East Lima, Peru. Materials and methods. The E. coli strains were identified by PCR. Antibiotic susceptibility was processed by the disk diffusion method. Genes involved in extended spectrum beta-lactamases (BLEE), quinolones and virulence were determined by PCR. Results. All samples exceeded the acceptable limits established in the Environmental Quality Standards for vegetable irrigation. Of the 94 isolates, 72.3% showed resistance to at least one antibiotic, 24.5% were multidrug resistant (MDR) and 2.1% were extremely resistant. The highest percentages of resistance were observed for ampicillin-sulbactam (57.1%), nalidixic acid (50%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (35.5%) and ciprofloxacin (20.4%). Among the isolates, 3.2% had a BLEE phenotype related to the bla CTX-M-15 gene. qnrB (20.4%) was the most frequent transferable mechanism of resistance to quinolones, and 2.04% had qnrS. It was estimated that 5.3% were diarrheagenic E. coli and of these, 60% were enterotoxigenic E. coli, 20% were enteropathogenic E. coli and 20% were enteroaggregative E. coli. Conclusions. The results show the existence of diarrheogenic pathotypes in the water used for irrigation of fresh produce and highlight the presence of BLEE-and MDR-producing E. coli, demonstrating the role played by irrigation water in the dissemination of resistance genes in Peru.