Background
The gut of human harbors diverse microbial community including 400–500 different species of bacteria performing an array of important metabolic functions for the host namely production of short-chain fatty acids and vitamins (vitamin k and biotin), nutrient absorption, and fighting against invading pathogens [
1,
2]. Diarrhea and poor child health are longstanding problems for many developing countries where sanitation is poor and the source of safe drinking water is scarce. In Bangladesh, a child under 5 years of age frequently suffers from moderate to severe diarrhea, on an average 3–4 times a year [
3]. The hospitalized patients suffering from severe diarrhea (cholera) undergo rehydration therapy and a 3 day course of effective antibiotic to shorten the hospitalization and to prevent the spread of infectious bacteria into the environment [
4,
5]. Although antibiotic therapy prevents people from death due to severe infection and related dehydration, the effect of antibiotics on the gut flora in acute diarrhea remains an important area to explore.
Our culture-independent metagenomic studies provided evidence that acute diarrhea (cholera) results in the expulsion of most of the commensal gut microbiota, and drug therapy allows the drug-resistant pathogenic microbiota to colonize the gut [
7]. Our metagenomic studies also revealed that the members of the phyla Proteobacteria including pathogenic genera were predominant in the gut of malnourished children compared to their healthy counterparts [
6]. In Bangladesh, infectious diseases due to multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria are at rise, although the reservoir for such MDR bacteria is not well defined. This study, a follow up, was designed to analyze gut microbiota from 15 children aged between 10 and 24 months, who did not have immediate past history of diarrhea for last 2 months, and were from moderate income families living in moderate hygiene condition in Dhaka city. We confirmed the gut of children under 5 years of age as an important reservoir for MDR bacterial genera belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae, which included surface water bacteria, including important human pathogens carrying major virulence plasmids and related genetic elements responsible for multidrug resistance.
Discussions
Data presented in this study coupled with the data reported earlier in our culture-independent metagenomic studies provide important insights into the prevalence of MDR bacterial genera of the family Enterobacteriaceae in the gut of young children in Bangladesh. Our results appear concordant as drug resistant bacteria were reported from the gut of healthy children elsewhere [
18,
19]. In Bangladesh, children suffer from frequent diarrhea and their gut can serve as an important reservoir for pathogenic bacteria of the family enterobacteriaceae, including genera that are naturally occurring in the aquatic environments [
6]. The results of this culture-based gut microbiota study appear in agreement with the data obtained in our immediate past culture-independent metagenomic study showing the presence in the gut of pathogenic bacteria belonging to the family enterobacteriaceae, which included pathogenic bacteria occurring naturally in the aquatic environments [
6]. Our subsequent culture-independent metagenomic studies also showed that the antimicrobial therapy in acute diarrhea results in dysbiosis, and selectively allows only the antibiotic resistant microbiota to enrich and settle in the gut of children [
7]. As the course of medication ended, the prevalent antibiotic-guarded community declined, but did not disappear completely as floral restoration followed up to day 28 of our observation [
7]. Thus, frequent diarrhea and related multiple doses of antibiotics likely enrich multi-drug resistant bacteria in the gut, as reflected by the observed predominance of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) positive Gram-negative bacterial genera including the recognized enteric and opportunistic pathogens in the gut of young children in Bangladesh. Thus, the data presented in this study might provide a basis for the widespread growth stunting related to the gut floral immaturity, as has been proposed for Bangladeshi children [
20] reaching their adulthood as malnourished.
Escherichia coli was the most abundant bacteria as confirmed by our culture-based analysis of the gut microbiota of young children in Bangladesh. The most striking finding may be that 11% of the
E. coli occurring in the gut of young children had genes encoding shiga toxin (
stx)-2, and 22% possessed
eae encoding an intimin adherence protein responsible for hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome caused by enterohemorrhagic
E. coli (EHEC). Besides, a great majority (83%) of the
E. coli isolated from the gut of children were MDR in Bangladesh. Drug resistant
E. coli was reported from healthy children of USA, Venezuela, and China [
21‐
23]; however, to our knowledge, MDR gut bacteria carrying EHEC genes namely
stx-2 and
eae are unique in the present study, which indicate a potential health risk for the young children of Bangladesh.
Enterobacter cloacae, a commensal gut bacteria occurring widely in the environment, has the ability to cause opportunistic infections in human [
24,
25]. The abundance of
Enterobacter spp., namely
E. cloacae and
E. cancerogenus as commensal flora of the gut of young children might reflect the potential health risks related to these opportunistic pathogens.
E. cloacae was shown to develop resistance to cephalosporins related to high frequency mutation in the resistance genes of extended-spectrum cephalosporins and ampicillin [
25‐
27]. In concurrence, almost half of the commensal
Enterobacter spp. isolated from gut of young children were resistant to cephalosporin antibiotics (e.g., ceftriaxone and cefixime) in Bangladesh.
Environmental enteropathy (EE), also known as tropical enteropathy or environmental enteric dysfunction, is a condition of frequent intestinal infections [
28]. There may be rare or no acute symptoms, but the chronic problem associated with the EE is the mal absorption of nutrients, which can lead to malnutrition and growth stunting in children [
28]. In Dhaka city, municipal supply water was shown have multiple infectious agents, including bacteria [
29]. The observed prevalence of the pathogenic member of the family Enterobacteriaceae in the gut of young children might reflect widespread environmental enteropathy in Dhaka city. Although boiling is an effective way to kill water-borne pathogens, this is often not practical due to poor or no access to fuel. A recent study revealed possible post-collection contamination of water at the household level, as the pathogen counts were much higher in the household drinking water than that of the supply water [
29]. Such pathogenic bacteria causing frequent infections (3–5 episodes of diarrhea/year) can eventually settle down in the gut as a commensal microbiota [
6], as we observed in the gut of children living in Dhaka city. This is plausible as the type of microbiota in the gut of cohort of European and rural African children was determined by their regular foods [
30].
The observed multi-drug resistance in gut microbiota of young children of Bangladesh appeared concordant with results from studies reporting MDR bacteria from healthy fecal samples of adults [
31‐
33] and children [
18,
19,
21,
22] from other countries of the world. Plasmids are known to carry and transmit drug resistance and related genes in bacteria [
33,
34]. A 140 MDa plasmid is known to be associated with the invasiveness of
Shigella flexneri [
35]. In the present study, a significant proportion (48%) of the gut bacteria of young children harbored a 140 MDa plasmids. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of the presence of such major plasmids in bacteria other than
Shigellae occurring in the gut of young children, which can transfer resistance and related genes horizontally across different genera.
The gene cassettes such as classes 1 and 2 integrons are responsible for multidrug resistance in Gram-negative bacteria [
14]. Class 1 integron was found from 57% (39/68) of the
E. coli occurring in the gut of young children in Dhaka city. Our results appear in agreement, as
intl–1 was reported from as high as 71% of MDR
E. coli isolated from human, animal, and food in Spain [
14]. The observed presence of tetracycline resistance-related genes
tetA,
tetB, and
tetD encoding efflux proteins in the commensal
E. coli was in agreement in the present study, as tetracycline resistant strains have been reported from the gut of infants in a previously study conducted elsewhere [
36]. Tetracycline resistance-related genes
tetA,
tetB, and
tetD were found only from the MDR
E. coli strains, but not from any other commensal bacteria occurring in the gut of young children in Bangladesh. Our results appear in agreement as
tetA and
tetB were present in MDR
E. coli isolated from human, animal, and food in Spain, but all carried a wide variety of other antibiotic resistance markers [
14].
Bacteria producing enzymes beta-lactamases (β-lactamases; also known as penicillinase) can degrade β-lactam antibiotics such as penicillins, cephamycins, and carbapenems (ertapenem), but rarely carbapenems, are MDR. The emergence of β-lactam resistance in
Enterobacteriaceae is related primarily to the production of novel enzymes such as TEM-, SHV-, and OXA-type β-lactamases. Ampicillin-resistant (AMP
r)
E. coli isolated from foods, fecal samples of human, and healthy animals were shown to harbor bla-TEM-type β-lactamase [
37]. In this study, majority (91%) of the
E. coli isolated from the gut of young children harbored
bla-
TEM
type β-lactamases in Bangladesh. Although the remaining
E. coli isolates possessed
bla
OXA in our study, this is a clear indication of the proliferation of ESBLs producing bacteria among the commensal gut bacteria of young children, which is alarming from public health standpoint. The OXA-type β-lactamases were reported earlier in 2008 from clinical samples in Swedish hospital [
38]. Previously,
E. coli isolated from fecal samples of domestic animals, retail ground meats, and urinary samples were shown to carry and spread
bla
CMY-2 in southern Taiwan [
39]. In the present study, two each of
Pantoea spp.,
E. cloacae, and one
E. cancerogenus possessed
bla
CMY-2.
Bla
CMY-9 was identified as a novel plasmid mediated cephalosporinase in
E. coli isolated from clinical samples in Japan [
40]. Our results reveal 16% (20/122) of the bacteria occurring in the gut of young children possessed
bla
CMY-9 gene. In addition, six
Klebsiella spp. isolated in the present study from the gut of young children harbored the
bla
SHV gene responsible for ESBL activity in
Klebsiella spp. [
41].
In our previous study in Bangladesh, we have documented that acute diarrhea expels the gut flora while antibiotic provision for the hospitalized diarrhea patients selectively allows only the MDR bacteria belonging to enterobacteriaceae to be restored in the gut of children [
6]. The observed prevalence of pathogenic bacteria carrying a wide variety of drug resistance marker genes, especially the extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) suggests the gut of young (under five years) children to be an important reservoir for MDR-related genes. This is suggestive of an apparent havoc, which will make the clinical management of diarrhea and other opportunistic bacterial infections, especially in severely malnourished and immunocompromised children very challenging. It is therefore evident prudent that more children will suffer from diarrhea due to MDR bacteria in Bangladesh, a densely populated country where hygiene level is poor and the dearth of safe drinking water will invite more untreatable diseases than ever before.
Authors’ contributions
MA conceived the study. SM designed and carried out the study involving SAS, SKIA, AS, FTJ, and KZR. MA, SM, HW, and NHA were involved in the overall study in its implementation, data analysis, and manuscript writing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.