First Description of Shigella sonnei Harboring bla_CTX-M-55 Outside Asia

Shigella sonnei harboring bla_CTX-M-55 was isolated outside of Asia for the first time. The bla_CTX-M-55 gene was found to be downstream of ISEcp-1 and located in a ~130 kb conjugative plasmid belonging to the I1 incompatibility group. The strain was recovered from a 7-year-old Ecuadorian girl with watery diarrhea who had not travelled abroad. Recent local data describe the emergence of bla_CTX-M-55 and other variants typically found in Asia in the Andean Region, suggesting that increased travel of humans and trade relationships with Asian countries are influencing the current Ecuadorian bacterial resistance situation.