Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Environmental Challenges
Publication Date
7-17-2025
Abstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a serious threat to human, animal and plant health, and over recent years the role of the aquatic environment as a hotspot and dissemination route for resistant bacteria has been increasingly recognised. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has identified AMR as a critical area of concern; however, limited studies have been conducted regarding the presence of AMR in aquatic environments in the region. This study addresses this gap by conducting a national surveillance to better understand the prevalence of aquatic AMR. We investigated the phenotypic and genotypic resistances in Escherichia coli (E. coli) isolates (n= 256) from sewage impacted and unimpacted coastal waters and artificial lakes across the UAE. Multidrug resistance was observed in 34.2% of isolates, with 22.7% exhibiting resistance to 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins, cefotaxime and ceftazidime, including 16.6% displaying an extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) phenotype. Resistance to fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and carbapenems was also detected. Whole-genome sequencing (n=92) revealed a high prevalence of the fimH virulence gene, as well as conjugative plasmids (IncF, IncA/C and IncY) carrying resistance determinants. Notably, qnrS1 and blaCTX-M-15 resistance genes were identified in 39% of sequenced isolates, while the blaNDM-5 gene was detected for the first time in a single isolate. These findings underscore the need for harmonised AMR surveillance and a regional monitoring framework to assess the environmental dissemination of AMR bacteria in a One Health context.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Volume
20
Disciplines
Life Sciences
Keywords
blaNDM-5, Ciprofloxacin, E. coli, Environmental AMR, ESBL
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Papadopoulou, A.; Moubareck, C. A.; Ryder, D.; Powell, A. L.; Stone, M.; Joseph, A. W.; Khan, M. A.; Light, E.; Verner-Jeffreys, D. W.; Stahl, J. H.; and Le Quesne, W. J.F., "First national study on genomic profiling of Escherichia coli in United Arab Emirates (UAE) aquatic environments shows diverse Quinolone and Cephalosporin resistance" (2025). All Works. 7397.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/7397
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series