US Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA.
State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Anchorage, AK, USA.
J Glob Antimicrob Resist. 2021 Jun;25:23-25. doi: 10.1016/j.jgar.2021.02.028. Epub 2021 Mar 2.
Wildlife may harbour clinically important antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, but the role of wildlife in the epidemiology of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections in humans is largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to assess dissemination of the bla carbapenemase gene among humans and gulls in Alaska.
We performed whole-genome sequencing to determine the genetic context of bla in bacterial isolates from all four human carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) infections reported in Alaska between 2013-2018 and to compare the sequences with seven previously reported CPE isolates from gull faeces within the same region and time period.
Genomic analysis of CPE isolates suggested independent acquisition events among humans with no evidence for direct transmission of bla between people and gulls. However, some isolates shared conserved genetic elements surrounding bla, suggesting possible exchange between species.
Our results highlight the genomic plasticity associated with bla and demonstrate that sampling of wildlife may be useful for identifying clinically relevant antimicrobial resistance not observed through local passive surveillance in humans.
野生动物可能携带具有临床重要性的抗微生物药物耐药菌，但野生动物在人类抗微生物药物耐药菌感染的流行病学中的作用在很大程度上尚不清楚。本研究旨在评估阿拉斯加地区人类和海鸥之间 bla 碳青霉烯酶基因的传播情况。
我们进行了全基因组测序，以确定 2013-2018 年期间在阿拉斯加报告的所有 4 例人类产碳青霉烯酶肠杆菌科（CPE）感染中 bla 的遗传背景，并将序列与同一地区和同一时期从海鸥粪便中分离出的 7 例先前报告的 CPE 分离株进行比较。
CPE 分离株的基因组分析提示人类之间 bla 的获得是独立事件，没有证据表明人与海鸥之间 bla 存在直接传播。然而，一些分离株共享 bla 周围保守的遗传元件，表明可能在物种之间发生了交换。
我们的研究结果强调了 bla 相关的基因组可塑性，并表明对野生动物进行采样可能有助于发现通过对人类进行局部被动监测未观察到的临床相关的抗微生物药物耐药性。
