Microbiological survey and genomic analysis of Cronobacter sakazakii strains isolated from US households and retail foods

Cronobacter species are opportunistic pathogens that are capable of causing morbidity and mortality, particularly in infants. Although the transmission dynamics involved in Cronobacter infections remain largely unknown, contaminated powdered infant formula (PIF) has been linked to 30% of Cronobacter sakazakii cases involving invasive illness in infants. As several lines of evidence have implicated the domestic environment in PIF contamination, we undertook a microbiological survey of homes (N = 263) across the US. Cronobacter spp. and C. sakazakii were isolated from 36.1% and 24.7% of US homes, respectively, with higher recovery rates observed for floor and kitchen surfaces. Multi-locus sequence typing indicated that the dominant strain was C. sakazakii ST4, the sequence type most commonly associated with neonatal meningitis. For comparison purposes, retail foods (N = 4,009) were also surveyed, with the highest contamination frequencies (10.1%-26.3%) seen for nut products, seeds, and grains/baked goods/flours. The sequence type profile of isolates recovered from homes mirrored that of isolates recovered from retail foods, with increased representation of ST1, ST4, ST13, ST17, and ST40. Analysis of 386 whole genomic sequences revealed significant diversity. Redundancies were only observed for isolates recovered from within the same domicile, and there were no identical matches with sequences archived at the NCBI pathogen database. Genes coding for putative virulence and antibiotic resistance factors did not segregate with clinically significant sequence types. Collectively, these findings support the possibility that contamination events occurring within the home should not be overlooked as a contributor to community-onset Cronobacter infections.