Heavy Metal Resistance Genes Are Associated with - and -Carrying Enterobacteriaceae.

The occurrence of heavy metal resistance genes in multiresistant possessing or genes was examined by PCR and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis with S1 nuclease. Compared with clinical susceptible isolates (10.0% to 30.0%), the , , , and genes occurred with higher frequencies in -positive (48.8% to 71.8%) and -positive (19.4% to 52.8%) isolates, and they were mostly located on plasmids. Given the high association of metal resistance genes with multidrug-resistant , increased vigilance needs to be taken with the use of heavy metals in hospitals and the environment.