CHARACTERIZATION OF A NOSOCOMIAL OUTBREAK INVOLVING AN EPIDEMIC PLASMID ENCODING FOR TEM-27 IN SALMONELLA-ENTERICA SUBSPECIES ENTERICA SEROTYPE OTHMARSCHEN

A ceftazidime-resistant Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica seroty pe Othmarschen strain, harboring the plasmid-mediated new extended-spe ctrum beta-lactamase TEM-27, was involved in a nosocomial outbreak (8 patients) at the Pediatric Cardiology Department of the Ramon y Cajal Hospital in Madrid. Genomic DNA polymorphism analysis, using an arbitr arily primed polymerase chain reaction, demonstrated the clonal nature of all Salmonella isolates, The plasmid encoding TEM-27 (pJMM1) was c haracterized by EcoRI, SacI, and BglI restriction, An identical restri ction pattern was found in plasmids from all S. enterica strains, Poss ible in vivo intergeneric plasmid spread was suggested by the identifi cation of an identical plasmid in Escherichia coli RYC5H and Enterobac ter cloacae RYC39737 strains isolated during the outbreak, Results ind icate that this outbreak involved dissemination of a single ceftazidim e-resistant Salmonella strain and the spread of a single TEM-27-encodi ng plasmid among different Enterobacteriaceae.