Carriage of b-lactamase (genes) in the gut microbiota of mothers and neonates from low- and middle-income countries: prevalence, risk factors and genomic analysis (BARNARDS)

As part of the BARNARDS study, we examined the rectal microbiota of 2,931 neonates and of 15,217 mothers screening for blaCTX-M-15, blaNDM, blaKPC, and blaOXA-48-like genes. Carbapenemase positive bacteria were identified by MALDI-TOF MS and showed a high diversity of bacterial species (57 distinct species/genera) which exhibited resistance to the majority of antibiotics tested. Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae, the most commonly found isolates, were subjected to whole-genome sequencing analysis and revealed close relationships between isolates from different samples suggesting transmission of bacteria between neonates, neonates and mothers, and within the same neonate.