• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.377-387
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• 2021

Fecal contamination levels of discharge water from inland pollution sources were investigated in Iwon-myeon (Taean-gun), South Korea. Gram-negative bacteria were isolated during the investigation and the antimicrobial resistance patterns of the isolates were examined to estimate their impact on the coastal environment. The ranges of total coliform and fecal coliform of 12 samples from four major inland pollution sources were 79-490,000 MPN/100 mL and 2.0-490,000 MPN/100 mL, respectively, with the highest level of fecal contamination at Station No. 3. A total of 137 strains (14 genus) were isolated, of which 86 strains (62.8%) were Enterobacteriaceae. The identified isolates were as follows: Pseudomonas spp. (35 strains), Klebsiella spp. (20 strains), Serratia spp. (20 strains), and Escherichia spp. (19 strains). The isolated Gram-negative bacteria showed the highest antimicrobial resistance to ampicillin (81.8%), followed by amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (64.2%), ceftiofur (61.3%), and cefoxitin (59.1%). Antimicrobials in which less than 10% of isolates showed antimicrobial resistance were ciprofloxacin (3.6%) and gentamicin (2.2%). Resistance to one or more antimicrobials was observed in 121 strains (88.3%) and 84 strains (61.3%) showed a tendency for multiple antimicrobial resistance.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.528-533
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• 2013

This study evaluated the impact of antimicrobial resistant bacteria produced by inland pollution sources on coastal areas, and investigates antimicrobial resistance profiles of bacteria isolated from marine filter feeders. A total of 107 shellfish (short-necked clams Ruditapes philippinarum, ark shells Scapharca broughtonii, and oysters Crassostrea gigas) were collected from the southern coast of Korea, from which 204 Escherichia coli strains were isolated. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolated strains were analyzed for 15 antimicrobial agents used in Korea for clinical or veterinary therapy. Antimicrobial resistance was present in 44.6% of E. coli isolates against at least one antimicrobial agent. The rate of antimicrobial resistance in the Narodo area was higher than isolates from the Gangjinman area and Kamak Bay. E. coli isolates had a higher rate of resistance against: tetracycline (29.9%), streptomycin (25.5%), and trimethoprim (14.2%). Of 204 isolates, 29 (14.2%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.13-19
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• 2016

A total of 423 shellfish (Oysters, Crassostrea gigas; short-necked clams, Ruditapes philippinarum and corb shells, Cyclina sinensis) were collected from the west coast of Korea, from which 277 Escherichia coli strains were isolated. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of isolated strains were analyzed for 22 antimicrobial agents used in Korea for clinical or veterinary therapy. The resistance of E. coli isolates to ampicillin (37.2%) was highest, followed by cephalothin (21.7%), cefazolin (19.9%), trimethoprim (15.2%). Antimicrobial resistance was present in 56.7% of E. coli isolates against at least one antimicrobial agent. Of 277 isolates, 44 (15.9%) were resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.275-285
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• 2008

Antimicrobial drugs are widely used in poultry industry as growth promoters or to control infectious diseases. However, this practice is reported to have caused high resistance to antimicrobial drugs in normal chicken flora and pathogens. Antimicrobial resistance to Escherichia coli (E. coli) from chicken has been mainly reported in normal flora, but rare in pathogenic organism in Korea, recently. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate prevalence of antimicrobials resistance, transfer of R plasmid, and association between antimicrobial drug resistance and O serotype of 203 pathogenic E. coli from poultry in Korea during the period from April 2003 to December 2005. These isolates showed a high resistance to tetracycline (Tc, 93.6%), nalidixic acid (Na, 92.6%), streptomycin (Sm, 81.8%), ampicillin (Ap, 77.3%), ciprofloxacin (Ci, 70.9%), sulfisoxazole (Su, 66.5%), and trimethoprim (Tp, 58.1%). Two hundred-one (99.0%) of the isolates were resistant to one or more drugs. They showed 57 different resistant patterns, and the most prevalent resistant pattern among them was Tc, Sin, Su, Ap, Tp, Ci, Na. Sixty-eight (33.8%) of the isolates transferred all or a part of their antimicrobial resistant pattern to the recipient strain by R plasmid. The most common antimicrobial resistant pattern was Tc, Sm, Su, Ap, Tp, Ci, Na in serotype O78, O88 and O15, respectively. These results exhibit high individual and multiple resistance to antimicrobials of pathogenic E. coli from poultry in Korea. They also suggest the needs for surveillance to monitor antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic bacteria that can be potentially transmitted to humans from food animals and to regulate the abuse of antimicrobials on food-producing animals in Korea.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.19-32
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• 1980

Besides the benefits of antimicrobial agents in the control of various infectious diseases, widespread and prolonged use of particular antimicrobial agents has brought about the increase of drug-resistant strains in a community and the profound changes in the pattern of infectious diseases. In Korea, there are some remote villages where no clinics and drug stores are available and the residents in those areas are assumed to have fewer chances to contact with antimicrobial agents. In the present study, the differences in susceptibilities to 14 antimicrobial agents between the isolates from rural areas(R) and Seoul National University Hospital(SNUH, H) were studied. The isolates and their numbers were Staphylococcus aureus, R;55, H;68), Enterococci(R;28, H;30), Escherichia coli(R;40, H;40), Enterobacter aerogenes(R;25, H;21) and Klebsiella pneunoniae(R;58, H;67). Minimal inhibitory concentrations(MIC's) of penicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin, cephalexin, tetracycline, oxytetracyline, doxycycline, minocycline, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, erythromycin, troleandomycin and co-trimoxazole were determined by agar dilution method. I. Comparison of MIC's and resistant strain proportions between isolates from SNUH and rural areas. MIC's and/or resistant strain proportions of the isolates from SNUH were significantly higher than those of the isolates from rural areas in the cases of 1. S. aureus to doxycycline, streptomycin and kanamycin. 2. E. coli to penicillin, ampicillin, carbenicillin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline, streptomycin, kanamycin, erythromycin and co-trimoxazole. 3. E. aerogences to carbenicillin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, minocycline, streptomycin, kanamycin, genaamicin and co-trimoxazole. 4. K pneunoniae to penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, doxycycline, monocycline, streptomycin, kanamycine, gentamicin and co-trimoxazole. However, the mean MIC and resistant strain proportion of S. aureus to tetracycline were higher in isolates from rural areas than in those from SNUH and Enterococci showed no differences in susceptibilities to the antimicrobial agents between isolates from rural areas and from SNUH. Therefore, in general, differenes in susceptibility to these antimicrobial agents between the isolates from rural areas and SNUH were remarkably greater and broader in gram negative enteric bacteria. II. Multiple drug resistance pattern. Patterns and incidences of multiple drug resistance were studied with penicillin, ampicillin, tetracycline, cephalexin, gentamicin, streptomcin, kanamycin and co-trimoxazole in Enterococci, E. coli, E. aeroges and K. pneumoniae. There appeared significant differences in the incidence of multiply drug-resistant strains and multiple drug resistance patterns between the isolates from SNUH and rural areas in Enterococci, E. coli, E. aerogenes and K. pneumoniae. However, there was no difference in the incidence of multiply drug-resistant strains between isolates of S. aureus from SNUH and rural areas but the pattern of multiple resistance of the SNUH strains of S. aureus was diverse, while that of the rural strains was predominantly confined to penicillin-tetracycline combination. The incidence of multigly drug-resistant strains and diversity of their patterns were the highest in E. coli strains isolated from SNUH and there were no multiply drug resistant strrains in Enterococci and K. pneumoniae strains isolated from rural areas. The number of drug-resistance determinants was also different between the isolates from rural areas and SNUH. Most of the multiply drug-resistant strains of E. coli, E. aerogenes and K. pneumoniae isolated from SNUH were resistant to more than 3 kinds of antimicrobial agents, most frequently to ampicillin, tetracycline and streptomycin, while multiply drug-resistant strains from rural areas were resistant to 2 kinds of antimicrobial agents among ampicillin, tetracycline and streptomycin. With drug-resistant E. coli strains, resistance to tetracycline which was used most widely since 1951 was most frequently involved as a part of mutliple drug-resistance, followed by resistance to ampicillin and streptomycin. This strongly suggests that emergence of drug-restant strains in a community is directly dependent on the selective pressure exerted by the antimicrobial agent used. III. Cross resistance. Cross resistance of bacteria was studied among tetracycline penicillin, aminoglycoside and macrolide derivatives by analyzing correlation coefficients of sucseptibilities using the least square method. In this study, there were high correlations among the susceptibilities to related derivatives. It appears that the relatively low correlations in susceptibilities present in some cases are due to intrinsic resistance of E. aerogenes to penicillin, Enterococci to aminoglycoside and E. coli E. aerogenes and K. pneumoniae to macrolide derivatives.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.17-26
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• 1999

To evaluate the spreading possibilities of the marRAB mutation of E. coli Mar mutant among gram-negative bacilli, chromosomal marRAB mutations of Mar mutants were transduced by $\lambda$placMu9 into pUC19 (Lac$^{+}$, Ap$^{r}$) cloning site in another strains of E. coli or onto the chrmosome of S. typhimurium and P. aeruginosa, selected for transduction by Mar phenotype, Lac$^{-}$, or Ap$^{r}$, and tested for their antimicrobial resistance with or without addition of salicylate (SAL). Compared with wild type strains of JM109, NM522, harboring pUC19 or not, respectively, all strains of JM109 or NM522 carrying pUC19::marRAB mutation showed higher levels of antimicrobial resistance and SAL induction of Mar phenotype than those of wild type. However, in contrast to the original Mar mutants, there were some tendencies of decreased antimicrobial resistance of JM109 or NM522 harboring pUC19::marRAB mutation with SAL induction against chlorarnphenicol (Cm) and tetracycline (Tc), or Tc and ciprofloxacin (Cp), respectively. Almost the same results, as shown as the cases of E. coli JM109 or NM522, were obtained from all transductants of S. typhimurium and P. aeruginosa, except Cp, against which increased antimicrobial resistance with SAL induction was shown. This study, employed the methods of transformation or transduction among intercellular gene transfer methods between gram-negative bacteria, shows the evidences that suggest indirectly the spreading possibilities of marRAB mutation among gram-negative bacilli.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2020

Clostridial bacteria are zoonotic agents, which cause severe necrotizing enteritis, pseudo-membrane colitis, enterotoxemia to both humans and animals. The objective of this study was to monitor the antibiotic resistance of Clostridium isolates on clinical specimens from wild animals in Seoul zoo for 5 years. Clostridium isolates were verified by using Vitek2 compact machine. Antibiotic susceptibility was assessed by antibiotic disc diffusion test, which was followed by Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion test method. The frequency of Antimicrobial resistance of Clostridium isolate was the greatest in gentamicin (87%), then in order of amikacin (80%). There were 55.6% of Clostridium isolates showed multiple drug resistance (MDR). These results showed that a lot of Clostridial bacteria from wild animals in Seoul zoo were acquired antibiotic resistance. Because of the wild animal's aggressive manner, it has been hard to collect clinical samples from wild animals in a zoo to exam antibiotic susceptibility. For these reasons, empirical use of antibiotics has been performed in frequently. It may cause to increase the emergence of antibiotic resistance bacteria. In addition, the antibiotic resistance bacteria from zoo animals can be spread to other wild animals which inhabit around the zoo. Therefore, regular monitoring of antibiotic resistance Clostridial bacteria is important to protect animals and humans from Clostridial diseases.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.367-373
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• 2021

The antimicrobial resistance of Staphylococcus spp. and Gram negative strains present in air samples from waste sorting facilities was assessed. Phenotypic studies have revealed a high percentage of strains of Staphylococcus spp. resistant to methicillin. Genotypically and by RT-PCR, it was found that the mecA gene usually associated with methicillin resistance was present in 8% of the Staphylococcus strains isolated. About 30% of the Gram negative strains from the same samples also displayed resistance to meropenem and 79% of these were resistant to multiple antibiotics from different classes, namely cephalosporins and β-lactams. The results suggest that in professional activities with high levels of exposure to biological agents, the quantification and identification of the microbial flora in the work environment, with the determination of the presence of potential agents displaying multi-resistances is of relevance to the risk assessment. The personal protection of workers is particularly important relevance in these cases, since many of the strains that exhibit multi-resistance are potential opportunistic agents.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.413-419
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability to treat and prevent infection by multiple Gram-negative bacterial pathogens as a last choice option in the treatment of serious infections in clinical settings. The global spread of extended-spectrum 𝛽-lactamases (ESBLs) and/or carbapenemases in microorganisms are of enormous concern to health services because they are often associated with multi-drug resistance which significantly restricts the antibiotic treatment options. In this study, the antimicrobial resistance profiles of bacteria isolated from South Korean market-derived meat samples were determined by the disc diffusion method. PCR was used to detect the presence of antibiotic resistance genes and ESBL producing genes. In total, we tested 181 isolated colonies from 36 market-derived meat samples. Single PCR and DNA sequencing results revealed that genes blaVIM, blaBIC, blaKPC, and blaSIM were present in the bacteria isolated from retail meat. The bacteria in the meat were separately sequenced and based on alignment, four different bacteria were identified. These findings suggest that bacteria found in retail meats are a reservoir for the spreading of ESBL blaVIM, blaBIC, blaKPC, and blaSIM resistance genes and bacteria strains.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.17-25
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• 2007

The kinds and quantity of antimicrobial agents used for cattle (animal industry) may be considerable, suggesting the possibility that pathogenic bacteria which cannot be extirpated by the existing antimicrobial agents could appear. Ten cattle, pig and chicken farms, respectively, were randomly selected from 5 provinces in Korea and the samples were collected from excrement, manure, underground water, farmers' hands and the neishboring environment. h total of 299 samples were examined and 197 of Escherichia coli, 13 of Campylobacter jejun/coli, 223 of Enterococcus faecium/faecalis and 42 of Staphylococcus aureus isolates were collected. All isolates were screened for antimicrobial resistance: 69.4% of E. coli (137/197 strains), 78.6% of S. aureus (33/42 strains), and 82.1% of E. faecium/faecalis (183/223 strains) were resistant to one antimicrobial agent and all of C. jejuni/coli Isolates showed the resistance to one antimicrobial agent. Meanwhile, the multiple resistance ratio for more than 4 lines of antimicrobial agent was 19.2% of E. coli (38/197 strains), 11.9% of S. aureus (5/42 strains), 15.4% of C. jejuni/coli (2/13 strains) and 6.2% of E. faecium/faecalis (14/223 strains). The antimicrobial resistance ratio of bacteria isolated from the cattle farm showed lower than that of bacteria isolated from the pig or chicken farm, which might be related to the quantify of antimicrobial agents consumed. And one strain of vancomycin resistant E..faecium (VREF) were isolated from the excrement of chicken and stream, respectively. Generally, the ratio of VREF collected in animal farm environments is lower than that of VREF collected in medical environment.