Illumina and Nanopore whole-genome sequencing data from ESBL-positive Escherichia coli collected in the COMBAT study. COMBAT ESBL-Ec isolate sequencing

International travel contributes significantly to the spread of AMR. In this study, we selected travellers included in the COMBAT study that acquired ESBL-positive Escherichia coli (ESBL-Ec) during international travel and were colonised for at least 12 months since return from travel. Using Illumina WGS data, we identified travellers that carried the same ESBL-Ec strain for 12 months. We matched short-term carriers (=12 months) and compared bacterial characeristics. This showed that specific lineages of E. coli are more likely to persist in the gut long-term. Notably, these lineages are typically recognised as extraintestional pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) lineages.