Faecal carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing and AmpC β-lactamase-producing bacteria among Danish army recruits.

During May and June 2008, 84 Danish army recruits were tested for faecal carriage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing and AmpC β-lactamase-producing bacteria. Three ESBL-producing (CTX-M-14a) Escherichia coli isolates, two AmpC-producing (CMY-2) E. coli isolates and one AmpC-producing (CMY-34) Citrobacter freundii isolate were detected. Two of the CTX-M-14a E. coli isolates had similar pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and multilocus sequence typing profiles, indicating the same origin or transmission between the two army recruits. The bla(CTX-M-14a) genes were transferable to an E. coli recipient. These commensal bacteria therefore constitute a reservoir of resistance genes that can be transferred to other pathogenic bacteria in the intestine.