{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:13:13Z","timestamp":1787029993609,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,12]],"date-time":"2023-05-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1683849600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100004329","name":"Slovenian Research Agency","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["P1-0198"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P1-0198"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100004329","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Biocidal products prevent the spread of pathogenic microorganisms, including extended-spectrum \u03b2-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC), which is one of the most alarming health problems worldwide. Quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) are surface-active agents that interact with the cytoplasmic membrane and are widely used in hospitals and food processing environments. A collection of 577 ESBL-EC, isolated from lower respiratory tract (LRT) samples, was screened for QAC resistance genes oqxA; oqxB; qacE\u03941; qacE; qacF\/H\/I; qacG; sugE (p); emrE; mdfA; sugE (c); ydgE; ydgF; and for class 1, 2, and 3 integrons. The prevalence of chromosome-encoded genes ranged from 77 to 100%, while the prevalence of QAC resistance genes encoded on mobile genetic elements (MGEs) was relatively low (0\u20130.9%), with the exception of qacE\u03941 (54.6%). PCR screening detected the presence of class 1 integrons in 36.3% (n = 210) of isolates, which were positively correlated with qacE\u03941. More correlations between QAC resistance genes, integrons, sequence type group ST131, and \u03b2-lactamase genes were presented. The results of our study confirm the presence of QAC resistance genes and also class 1 integrons commonly found in multidrug-resistant clinical isolates and highlight the potential role of QAC resistance genes in the selection of ESBL-producing E. coli in hospitals.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed8050273","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,12]],"date-time":"2023-05-12T09:26:13Z","timestamp":1683883573000},"page":"273","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["QAC Resistance Genes in ESBL-Producing E. coli Isolated from Patients with Lower Respiratory Tract Infections in the Central Slovenia Region\u2014A 21-Year Survey"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Katja","family":"Hrovat","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jerneja \u010cremo\u017enik","family":"Zupan\u010di\u010d","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4126-7644","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Katja","family":"Seme","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jerneja Ambro\u017ei\u010d","family":"Avgu\u0161tin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,5,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiv429","article-title":"Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia coli, a Common Human Pathogen: Challenges for Vaccine Development and Progress in the Field","volume":"213","author":"Poolman","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. 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