Editorial Response: Extended-Spectrum -Lactamases: A Call for Improved Detection and Control

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Abstract
Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) are enzymes produced by gram-negative bacilli that have the ability to inactivate β-lactam antibiotics containing an oxyimino group (i.e., third-generation cephalosporins and aztreonam). They are known as “extended-spectrum” because they are able to hydrolyze a broader spectrum of β-lactam antibiotics than the simple parent β-lactamases from which they are derived. ESBLs are plasmid-mediated β-lactamases, most commonly found in Klebsiella pneumoniae (but increasingly in Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis, and other gram-negative bacilli). They are structurally quite different from the inducible chromosomal β-lactamases produced by organisms such as Enterobacter cloacae, Citrobacter species, Serratia marcescens, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which also result in inactivation of third-generation cephalosporins.

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