Hospital isolates of Serratia marcescens transferring ampicillin, carbenicillin, and gentamicin resistance to other gram-negative bacteria including Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Thirteen independent isolates of Serratia marcescens associated with nosocomial urinary tract infections were obtained from the clinical microbiology laboratory at Hines Veterans Administration Hospital. The isolates were resistant to at least ampicillin, carbenicillin, gentamicin, and tobramycin. They could be divided into two groups on the basis of their antibiotypes. Group I (9 strains) showed resistance to 13 antibiotics, including 3 beta-lactams, 6 aminoglycosides, tetracycline, sulfonamide, trimethoprim, and polymyxin B. Group II (4 strains) was resistant to 11 antibiotics, including 3 beta-lactams, 5 aminoglycosides, sulfonamide, trimethoprim, and polymyxin B. Donors from both groups transferred resistance traits to Escherichia coli. Transconjugants from matings with group II donors all acquired resistance to nine antibiotics, including the three beta-lactams, five aminoglycosides, and sulfonamide. Transconjugants from matings with group I donors were of varied antibiotypes, inheriting resistance to up to 11 of the 13 antibiotics. Resistances to trimethoprim and polymyxin B were never observed to transfer. E. coli transconjugants of each group were capable of transferring multiple-antibiotic resistance to several other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. All group II S. marcescens and E. coli donors and all group I S. marcescens donors transferred carbenicillin, streptomycin, kanamycin, gentamicin, tobramycin, and sisomicin resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The results suggest that these S. marcescens strains harbor R factors of a broader host range than previously reported.