McDougall Fiona, Boardman Wayne, Power Michelle
School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia.
School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5371, Australia.
Microorganisms. 2022 Aug 7;10(8):1589. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms10081589.
The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant in wildlife is concerning-especially resistance to clinically important beta-lactam antibiotics. Wildlife in closer proximity to humans, including in captivity and in rescue/rehabilitation centres, typically have a higher prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant compared to their free-living counterparts. Each year, several thousand Australian fruit bat pups, including the grey-headed flying fox (GHFF; , require rescuing and are taken into care by wildlife rescue and rehabilitation groups. To determine the prevalence of beta-lactam-resistant in rescued GHFF pups from South Australia, faecal samples were collected from 53 pups in care. A combination of selective culture, PCR, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, whole-genome sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis was used to identify and genetically characterise beta-lactam-resistant isolates. The prevalence of amoxicillin-, amoxicillin-plus-clavulanic-acid-, and cephalosporin-resistant in the 53 pups was 77.4% ( = 41), 24.5% ( = 13), and 11.3% ( = 6), respectively. GHFF beta-lactam-resistant also carried resistance genes to aminoglycosides, trimethoprim plus sulphonamide, and tetracyclines in 37.7% ( = 20), 35.8% ( = 19), and 26.4% ( = 14) of the 53 GHFF pups, respectively, and 50.9% ( = 27) of pups carried multidrug-resistant . Twelve strain types were identified from the 53 pups, with six strains having extraintestinal pathogenic traits, indicating that they have the potential to cause blood, lung, or wound infections in GHFFs. Two lineages- ST963 and ST58 O8:H25-were associated with human extraintestinal infections. Phylogenetic analyses determined that all 12 strains were lineages associated with humans and/or domestic animals. This study demonstrates high transmission of anthropogenic-associated beta-lactam-resistant to GHFF pups entering care. Importantly, we identified potential health risks to GHFF pups and zoonotic risks for their carers, highlighting the need for improved antibiotic stewardship and biosafety measures for GHFF pups entering care.
野生动物中出现的抗菌药物耐药性令人担忧，尤其是对临床上重要的β-内酰胺类抗生素的耐药性。与自由生活的同类动物相比，与人类距离更近的野生动物，包括圈养动物以及救援/康复中心的动物，通常具有更高的抗菌药物耐药性患病率。每年，包括灰头狐蝠（GHFF； ）在内的数千只澳大利亚果蝠幼崽需要被营救，并由野生动物救援和康复组织照顾。为了确定南澳大利亚获救的GHFF幼崽中β-内酰胺耐药性的患病率，从53只接受照料的幼崽中采集了粪便样本。采用选择性培养、聚合酶链反应（PCR）、抗菌药敏试验、全基因组测序和系统发育分析相结合的方法，对β-内酰胺耐药性分离株进行鉴定和基因特征分析。在这53只幼崽中，阿莫西林耐药、阿莫西林加克拉维酸耐药和头孢菌素耐药的患病率分别为77.4%（ = 41）、24.5%（ = 13）和11.3%（ = 6）。在53只GHFF幼崽中，分别有37.7%（ = 20）、35.8%（ = 19）和26.4%（ = 14）的GHFFβ-内酰胺耐药菌还携带对氨基糖苷类、甲氧苄啶加磺胺类和四环素类的耐药基因，50.9%（ = 27）的幼崽携带多重耐药菌。从这53只幼崽中鉴定出12种菌株类型，其中6种菌株具有肠外致病特征，表明它们有可能在GHFF中引起血液、肺部或伤口感染。两个谱系——ST963和ST58 O8:H25——与人类肠外感染有关。系统发育分析确定，所有12种菌株都是与人类和/或家畜相关的谱系。这项研究表明，进入照料阶段的GHFF幼崽中，人为相关的β-内酰胺耐药菌传播率很高。重要的是，我们确定了GHFF幼崽潜在的健康风险及其护理人员的人畜共患病风险，强调了对进入照料阶段的GHFF幼崽改善抗生素管理和生物安全措施的必要性。
