Escherichia coli Producing CTX-M-2 β-Lactamase in Cattle, Japan

From November 2000 to June 2001, Escherichia coli strains producing CTX-M-2 β-lactamase were isolated from 6 (1.5%) of 396 cattle fecal samples and 2 (0.7%) of 270 surface swabs of cattle carcasses in Japan. The bla_CTX-M-2 gene responsible for CTX-M-2 production was encoded on transferable plasmids, and the gene was transferred to E. coli CSH2 with a very high frequency (2 × 10^-4 to 6 × 10^-1 per donor cells) by conjugation. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analysis of nine isolates showed at least five different patterns. These findings suggest that CTX-M-2 producers might have originated from cattle through the use of cephalosporins such as ceftiofur and that cattle could be a reservoir of CTX-M-2-producing E. coli. Continuous and strategic surveillance of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in livestock is essential to suppress further dissemination of these bacteria into society at large.