Antimicrobial resistance, conjugative plasmids and pathogenicity in wastewater and freshwater Escherichia spp. in Stockholm, Sweden.

Key Points

• This research aims to understand the role of wastewater treatment plants in the spread of antimicrobial resistance in E. coli.
• Analyzed conjugative plasmid types in E. coli from wastewater and freshwater sources.
• Measured transfer frequencies of different plasmid types.
• Identified sources of multidrug resistance (MDR) in Escherichia spp.
• IncF plasmids exhibited lower transfer frequencies compared to IncN and IncI1 plasmids.
• WWTPs were identified as a major source of MDR E. coli.
• Findings underscore the environmental impact of pathogenic E. coli dissemination.