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Updated: Feb 7, 2026
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Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
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Tracking carbapenemase-producing bacteria by molecular typing: Population diversity and sampling pitfall
Sophie Baranovsky1, Sara Romano-Bertrand1, Yann Dumont2
1HydroSciences Montpellier, IRD, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, Département d'Hygiène Hospitalière, CHU de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Summary
Accurate bacterial typing for healthcare-associated infections requires sampling multiple colonies due to intra-population diversity. This approach is crucial for fully tracking the transmission of extensively drug-resistant bacteria and improving outbreak control.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Infectious Diseases
- Genomics
Background:
- Typing methods for bacterial identification are advancing.
- Bacterial sampling strategies in healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are often overlooked.
- Extensively drug-resistant bacteria pose a significant threat in healthcare settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the impact of bacterial colony sampling on typing results in HAIs.
- To demonstrate the necessity of diverse sampling for accurate transmission tracking of carbapenemase-producing bacteria.
- To advocate for bacterial population studies in improving HAI outbreak control.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of two case studies involving in-hospital transmission of carbapenemase-producing bacteria.
- Bacterial typing focusing on the impact of sampling multiple colonies from the same species and resistotype.
- Comparative analysis of typing results based on single versus multiple colony sampling.
Main Results:
- Typing single colonies can lead to incomplete or inaccurate transmission tracking.
- Intra-population diversity within bacterial samples necessitates the analysis of multiple colonies.
- Sampling several colonies of the same species and resistotype was essential to fully elucidate transmission routes in the presented cases.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial colony sampling significantly impacts the accuracy of typing results in HAIs.
- Understanding bacterial intra-population diversity is key to effective transmission tracing.
- Implementing bacterial population studies can enhance the control of HAI outbreaks caused by drug-resistant pathogens.
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