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Updated: May 2, 2026

Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
Epidemiology of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant community-acquired Enterobacteria isolated from elderly
S Thibaut1, J Caillon2, A Marquet1
1MedQual, hôpital Saint-Jacques, CHU de Nantes, 85, rue Saint-Jacques, 44093 Nantes cedex 1, France.
Aims:
This survey was made to study the epidemiology of multiresistant bacteria (MRB) in the French community, among elderly patients 65 years of age or more, carrying third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-resistant) Enterobacteriaceae, and the co-resistance of prescribed antibiotics.
Methods:
The data was collected in 2009 in the West of France by MedQual, a network of 174 private laboratories.
Results:
Two thousand one hundred and sixty strains of the 88,255 identified Enterobacteria strains were 3GC-resistant (2.4%) and 945 of these strains (41.8%) were isolated from elderly patients 65 years of age or more. Escherichia coli was the predominant 3GC-resistant strain (72.7%). 51.4% of the 945 patients in whom a 3GC-resistant strain was isolated produced an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL). The main risk factors for infection with the 3GC-resistant strain were hospitalization and antibiotic treatment in the previous year (58.2 and 86.9%, respectively). Hospitalization during the previous year was more frequent among elderly patients who lived at home compared with those who lived in nursing homes (P<0.05). The production of ESBL, among the 945 patients who carried the 3GC-resistant strains, was similar among patients who lived at home compared with those who lived in nursing homes (51.4% versus 49.7%).
Conclusion:
Microbiologists should warn family physicians about MRB isolates with a specific antimicrobial resistance pattern (3GC-resistant, fluoroquinolone-resistant, etc.) to prescribe more effective medications.
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