International Travel as a Risk Factor for Carriage of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing in a Large Sample of European Individuals-The AWARE Study.
Rodríguez-Molina, Daloha Berglund, Fanny Blaak, Hetty Flach, Carl-Fredrik Kemper, Merel Marutescu, Luminita Pircalabioru Gradisteanu, Gratiela Popa, Marcela Spießberger, Beate Wengenroth, Laura
Rodríguez-Molina, Daloha
Berglund, Fanny
Blaak, Hetty
Flach, Carl-Fredrik
Kemper, Merel
Marutescu, Luminita
Pircalabioru Gradisteanu, Gratiela
Popa, Marcela
Spießberger, Beate
Wengenroth, Laura
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Open Access
Type
Article
Language
en
Date of publication
2022-04-14
Year of publication
Research Projects
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Journal Issue
Title
International Travel as a Risk Factor for Carriage of Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing in a Large Sample of European Individuals-The AWARE Study.
Translated Title
Published in
International journal of environmental research and public health
Abstract
Antibiotic resistance (AR) is currently a major threat to global health, calling for a One Health approach to be properly understood, monitored, tackled, and managed. Potential risk factors for AR are often studied in specific high-risk populations, but are still poorly understood in the general population. Our aim was to explore, describe, and characterize potential risk factors for carriage of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-resistant Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) in a large sample of European individuals aged between 16 and 67 years recruited from the general population in Southern Germany, the Netherlands, and Romania. Questionnaire and stool sample collection for this cross-sectional study took place from September 2018 to March 2020. Selected cultures of participants' stool samples were analyzed for detection of ESBL-EC. A total of 1183 participants were included in the analyses: 333 from Germany, 689 from the Netherlands, and 161 from Romania. Travels to Northern Africa (adjusted Odds Ratio, aOR 4.03, 95% Confidence Interval, CI 1.67-9.68), Sub-Saharan Africa (aOR 4.60, 95% CI 1.60-13.26), and Asia (aOR 4.08, 95% CI 1.97-8.43) were identified as independent risk factors for carriage of ESBL-EC. Therefore, travel to these regions should continue to be routinely asked about by clinical practitioners as possible risk factors when considering antibiotic therapy.