Mobile Colistin Resistance (mcr) Gene-Containing Organisms in Poultry Sector in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Epidemiology, Characteristics, and One Health Control Strategies

Mobile colistin resistance (mcr) genes (mcr-1 to mcr-10) are plasmid-encoded that threaten the clinical utility of (COL), one highest-priority critically important antibiotics (HP-CIAs) used treat infections caused by multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant bacteria in humans animals. For more than six decades, COL has been largely unregulated poultry sector low- middle-income countries (LMICs), this led development/spread mcr gene-containing (MGCB). The prevalence rates mcr-positive organisms from LMICs between January 1970 May 2023 range 0.51% 58.8%. Through horizontal gene transfer, conjugative plasmids possessing insertion sequences (ISs) (especially ISApl1), transposons (predominantly Tn6330), integrons have enhanced spread mcr-1, mcr-2, mcr-3, mcr-4, mcr-5, mcr-7, mcr-8, mcr-9, mcr-10 LMICs. These harboured Escherichia, Klebsiella, Proteus, Salmonella, Cronobacter, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Shigella, Providencia, Aeromonas, Raoultella, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter species, belonging diverse clones. also integrated into chromosomes these mobilizable ISs integrative elements. often coexpress with virulence other conferring HP-CIAs, such as extended-spectrum cephalosporins, carbapenems, fosfomycin, fluoroquinolone, tigecycline. transmission routes dynamics MGCB within One Health triad include contact birds, feed/drinking water, manure, farmers their farm workwear, farming equipment, consumption sale contaminated meat/egg associated products, etc. use pre/probiotics non-antimicrobial alternatives raising judicious non-critically for therapy, banning nontherapeutic use, improved vaccination, biosecurity, hand hygiene sanitization, development rapid diagnostic test kits, intensified surveillance genes, among others, could effectively control