Gut microbiome perturbation, antibiotic resistance, and Escherichia coli strain dynamics associated with international travel: a metagenomic analysis.
Publication/Presentation Date
9-13-2023
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Culture-based studies have shown that acquisition of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales is common during international travel; however, little is known about the role of the gut microbiome before and during travel, nor about acquisition of other antimicrobial-resistant organisms. We aimed to identify (1) whether the gut microbiome provided colonisation resistance against antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition, (2) the effect of travel and travel behaviours on the gut microbiome, and (3) the scale and global heterogeneity of antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition.
METHODS: In this metagenomic analysis, participants were recruited at three US travel clinics (Boston, MA; New York, NY; and Salt Lake City, UT) before international travel. Participants had to travel internationally between Dec 8, 2017, and April 30, 2019, and have DNA extractions for stool samples both before and after travel for inclusion. Participants were excluded if they had at least one low coverage sample (pairs). Stool samples were collected at home before and after travel, sent to a clinical microbiology laboratory to be screened for three target antimicrobial-resistant organisms (extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, and mcr-mediated colistin-resistant Enterobacterales), and underwent DNA extraction and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. We profiled metagenomes for taxonomic composition, antibiotic-resistant gene content, and characterised the Escherichia coli population at the strain level. We analysed pre-travel samples to identify the gut microbiome risk factors associated with acquisition of the three targeted antimicrobial resistant organisms. Pre-travel and post-travel samples were compared to identify microbiome and resistome perturbation and E coli strain acquisition associated with travel.
FINDINGS: A total of 368 individuals travelled between the required dates, and 296 had DNA extractions available for both before and after travel. 29 travellers were excluded as they had at least one low coverage sample, leaving a final group of 267 participants. We observed a perturbation of the gut microbiota, characterised by a significant depletion of microbial diversity and enrichment of the Enterobacteriaceae family. Metagenomic strain tracking confirmed that 67% of travellers acquired new strains of E coli during travel that were phylogenetically distinct from their pre-travel strains. We observed widespread enrichment of antibiotic-resistant genes in the gut, with a median 15% (95% CI 10-20, p<1 >× 10
INTERPRETATION: This work highlights a scale of E coli and antimicrobial-resistant organism acquisition by US travellers not apparent from previous culture-based studies, and suggests that strategies to control antimicrobial-resistant organisms addressing international traveller behaviour, rather than modulating the gut microbiome, could be worthwhile.
FUNDING: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
ISSN
2666-5247
Published In/Presented At
Worby, C. J., Sridhar, S., Turbett, S. E., Becker, M. V., Kogut, L., Sanchez, V., Bronson, R. A., Rao, S. R., Oliver, E., Walker, A. T., Walters, M. S., Kelly, P., Leung, D. T., Knouse, M. C., Hagmann, S. H. F., Harris, J. B., Ryan, E. T., Earl, A. M., & LaRocque, R. C. (2023). Gut microbiome perturbation, antibiotic resistance, and Escherichia coli strain dynamics associated with international travel: a metagenomic analysis. The Lancet. Microbe, S2666-5247(23)00147-7. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2666-5247(23)00147-7
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
PubMedID
37716364
Department(s)
Department of Medicine
Document Type
Article