Point Mutations in Furazolidone and Rifampicin Resistance Genes in Strains from Colombia.

The eradication of is a valid strategy for preventing gastric cancer; however, the therapeutic failure of first-line treatments in Colombia is associated with high resistance to metronidazole and amoxicillin. This study explored alternative antibiotics and analyzed point mutations in resistance genes to furazolidone and rifampicin in order to include them in rescue therapy regimens. A total of 239 complete genomes of Colombian strains were compared to that of the ATCC 26695 strain to identify mutations in the and genes for rifampicin and furazolidinone resistance, respectively. While rifampicin resistance mutations were not found, only 0.84% of the isolates showed the gene, suggesting that is sensitive to these antibiotics. A phylogenomic analysis of revealed an independent lineage in Colombia (hspColombia). The absence of point mutations in the gene, together with the scarce mutations identified in the gene of , suggest that the hspColombia isolates are sensitive to rifampicin and furazolidone, which could be key to including these antibiotics in the rescue therapies against .