Abstract
An
Escherichia coli
clinical strain resistant to all
β
-lactams except carbapenems was isolated in a Greek hospital. Analysis of
β
-lactamase content by isoelectric focusing,
PCR assays specific for various
bla
genes, and DNA sequencing showed that the strain produced TEM-1, a
Citrobacter freundii
AmpC-related cephalosporinase, and CTX-M-3. The
bla
CTX-M-3
gene was carried by a 120-kb plasmid that was readily transferable to a susceptible
E. coli
host.