Serotypes of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli isolated from the sewage of Palmerston North (New Zealand)

Antibiotic resistant strains of Escherichia coli were isolated from the domestic sewage of Palmerston North. The ability of these strains to transfer the drug resistance markers to two different recipient E. coli strains was assessed. The 'O' and 'H' serotypes of all strains were determined and attempts at correlation with the drug resistance studies were made. Some typically 'human' serotypes were found as well as a number of rarely described ones. No correlation between serotype and resistance pattern was observed.