Open AccessHigh prevalence and diversity of extended-spectrum β-lactamase and emergence of OXA-48 producing Enterobacterales in wildlife in Catalonia
Author(s) -
Laila Darwich,
Àlvar Martínez Vidal,
Chiara Seminati,
Andreu Albamonte,
Alba Casado,
Ferrán López,
Rafael A. MolinaLópez,
Lourdes Migura-García
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0210686
Subject(s) - enterobacter cloacae , citrobacter freundii , providencia , klebsiella pneumoniae , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , proteus mirabilis , antibiotic resistance , enterobacter , carbapenem , veterinary medicine , klebsiella , escherichia coli , gene , antibiotics , genetics , medicine
Most of the studies focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) performed in wildlife describe Escherichia coli as the principal indicator of the selective pressure. In the present study, several species of Enterobacterales with a large panel of cephalosporin resistant (CR) genes have been isolated from wildlife in Catalonia. A total of 307 wild animals were examined to determine the prevalence of CR enterobacteria, AMR phenotypes and the presence of common carbapenem and CR genes. The overall prevalence of CR-phenotype was 13% (40/307): 17.3% in wild mammals (18/104) and 11.5% in wild birds (22/191) (p<0.01). Hedgehogs showed the highest prevalence (13.5% of 104) of the mammal specimens, and raptors the highest in bird specimen (7.3% of 191). Although CR E . coli was the most frequently isolated (45%), other CR- Enterobacterales like Klebsiella pneumoniae (20%), Citrobacter freundii (15%), Enterobacter cloacae (5%), Proteus mirabilis (5%), Providencia spp (5%) and Serratia marcescens (2.5%) were also isolated. A high diversity of CR genes was identified among the isolates, with 50% yielding bla CMY-2, 23% bla SHV-12, 20% bla CMY-1 and 18% bla CTX-M-15. Additionally, resistance to carbapenems associated to OXA-48 gene was found. Most of the CR isolates, principally K . pneumoniae and C . freundii , were multi-resistant with co-resistance to fluoroquinolones, tetracycline, sulphonamides and aminoglycosides. This study reports high prevalence of Enterobacterales harbouring a variety of CR genes and OXA-48 mediated-carbapenem resistance, all of them frequently associated to nosocomial human infections, for the first time in wild mammals and wild birds. Implementation of control measures to reduce the impact of anthropogenic pressure in the environment is urgently needed.