The distribution of carbapenem- and colistin-resistance in Gram-negative bacteria from the Tamil Nadu region in India Manohar, Prasanth and Shanthini, Thamaraiselvan and Ayyanar, Ramankannan and Bozdogan, Bulent and Wilson, Aruni and Tamhankar, Ashok J. and Nachimuthu, Ramesh and Lopes, Bruno S.,, 66, 874-883 (2017), doi = https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.000508, publicationName = Microbiology Society, issn = 0022-2615, abstract= Purpose. The occurrence of carbapenem- and colistin-resistance among Gram-negative bacteria is increasing worldwide. The aim of this study was to understand the distribution of carbapenem- and colistin-resistance in two areas in Tamil Nadu, India. Methodology. The clinical isolates (n=89) used in this study were collected from two diagnostic centres in Tamil Nadu, India. The bacterial isolates were screened for meropenem- and colistin-resistance. Further, resistance genes bla NDM-1, bla OXA-48-like, bla IMP, bla VIM, bla KPC, mcr-1 and mcr-2 and integrons were studied. The synergistic effect of meropenem in combination with colistin was assessed. Results. A total of 89 bacterial isolates were studied which included Escherichia coli (n=43), Klebsiella pneumoniae (n=18), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (n=10), Enterobacter cloacae (n=6), Acinetobacter baumannii (n=5), Klebsiella oxytoca (n=4), Proteus mirabilis (n=2) and Salmonella paratyphi (n=1). MIC testing showed that 58/89 (65 %) and 29/89 (32 %) isolates were resistant to meropenem and colistin, respectively, whereas 27/89 (30 %) isolates were resistant to both antibiotics. Escherichia coli, K. pneumoniae, K. oxytoca, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter cloacae isolates were bla NDM-1-positive (n=20). Some strains of Escherichia coli, K. pneumoniae and K. oxytoca were bla OXA-181-positive (n=4). Class 1, 2 and 3 integrons were found in 24, 20 and 3 isolates, respectively. Nine NDM-1-positive Escherichia coli strains could transfer carbapenem resistance via plasmids to susceptible Escherichia coli AB1157. Meropenem and colistin showed synergy in 10/20 (50 %) isolates by 24 h time-kill studies. Conclusion. Our results highlight the distribution of carbapenem- and colistin-resistance in Gram-negative bacteria isolated from the Tamil Nadu region in South India., language=, type=