Emergence of plasmid-borne bla oxa-181 gene in Ochrobactrum intermedium: first report from India

Wastewater has become a potential habitat for multi-drug-resistant bacteria. The present study aims to screen for the presence of carbapenem-resistant bacteria in sewage water samples collected from hospital and non-hospital sources. From a total of 19 sewage water samples collected, 100 carbapenem-resistant non-lactose-fermenting Gram-negative bacteria (CR-NF-GNB) were isolated using MacConkey agar cultured with 8 mg l −1 of meropenem. On screening for beta-lactamase resistance genes ( bla NDM , bla OXA-48-like , bla IMP , bla VIM and bla KPC ), one isolate,Ochrobactrum intermedium , was found to carry the plasmid-borne bla OXA-48-like gene. To the best of our knowledge, we provide the first report of the rare and emerging opportunistic pathogenOchrobactrum intermediumencoding the OXA-181 gene in its plasmid.