New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1-producing belonging to the novel ST264 causing fatal sepsis in a vulnerable migratory sea turtle.

Olive ridley () turtles migrate across tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Worryingly, olive ridley populations have been declining substantially and is now considered a threatened species. In this regard, habitat degradation, anthropogenic pollution, and infectious diseases have been the most notorious threats for this species. We isolated a metallo-β-lactamase (NDM-1)-producing from the blood sample of an infected migratory olive ridley turtle found stranded sick in the coast of Brazil. Genomic analysis of confirmed a novel sequence type (ST), named ST264, and a wide resistome to broad-spectrum antibiotics. The production of NDM-1 by the strain contributed to treatment failure and death of the animal. Phylogenomic relationship with environmental and human strains from African, European and Asian countries confirmed that critical priority clones of are spreading beyond hospital settings, representing an emerging ecological threat to marine ecosystems.