Environmental dissemination of multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli across one health interfaces in Mymensingh, Bangladesh
Environmental dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli is a major One Health challenge in Bangladesh. This study assessed the occurrence of third-generation cephalosporin and carbapenem-resistant E. coli across key environmental interfaces in Mymensingh. In May 2022, 28 water samples were collected from hospital wastewater, livestock effluents, aquaculture ponds, and the Khiro River. Samples were processed via the WHO Tricycle protocol, with 26 isolates undergoing whole-genome sequencing. Third-generation cephalosporin-resistant E. coli were detected in 86% of samples, while carbapenem-resistant isolates (18%) were found exclusively in hospital and river samples. Highest ESBL-producing E. coli concentrations occurred in hospital and poultry wastewater (mean 6.9-7.1 log10 CFU/ml). Sequencing identified 93 resistance genes, dominated by blaCTX-M-15 (79%), tet(A) (75%), aadA1 (54%), qnrS1 (50%), and mph(A) (50%). Carbapenem resistance was associated with blaNDM-5 in hospital and river isolates. While most isolates showed niche-specific clustering in our Phylogenetic analysis, highly conserved core-genome profiles (0 SNPs) between hospital and downstream river isolates (ST2363/ST410) provided strong genomic evidence consistent with effluent-mediated dissemination. These findings highlight the role of wastewater and livestock systems in AMR transmission, underscoring the urgent need for integrated One Health surveillance and improved waste management in Bangladesh.
Authors
- Nawroz Afreen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4633-4754)
- Faisol Talukdar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6481-8299)
- M Arshad Ul Alam
- Aninda Rahman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2487-9254)
- Andreas Petersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6864-0624)
- Lina Cavaco (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8919-1998)
- Jérôme Delamare‐Deboutteville (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4169-2456)
- Rezaul Hasan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3844-8113)
- Kazi Injamamul Hoque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7486-5862)
- Mohammad Gazi Shah Alam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0551-9699)
- Md Shafiul Alam (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8505-8011)
- Mohammed Badrul Amin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7181-6432)
- S. M. Sabrina Yesmin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1719-4916)
- Sangjukta Roy
- Johanna Lindahl
- A R Larsen
- Arshnee Moodley
- Mohammad Sadekuzzaman
- Abul Kalam
Institutions
- Statens Serum Institut (DK)
- Griffith University (AU)
- University of Copenhagen (DK)
- University of Washington (US)
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research (BD)
- Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BD)
- Frederiksberg Hospital (DK)
- Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BD)
- Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (BD)
- Directorate General of Health Services (BD)
- Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (BD)
- International Livestock Research Institute (KE)
- Mymensingh Medical College Hospital (BD)
- WorldFish (MY)
Publication Details
- Journal
- npj Antimicrobials and Resistance
- Published
- 2026-04-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s44259-026-00202-x
- Primary Topic
- Antibiotic Resistance in Bacteria
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh
- Consortium of International Agricultural Research Centers