Azorean wild rabbits as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli

作者：Marinho Catarina; Igrejas Gilberto; Goncalves Alexandre; Silva Nuno; Santos Tiago; Monteiro Ricardo; Goncalves David; Rodrigues Tiago; Poeta Patricia^*

来源：Anaerobe, 2014, 30: 116-119.

DOI：10.1016/j.anaerobe.2014.09.009

• Antibiotic resistance
• Escherkhia coli
• Wild rabbit

Antibiotic resistance in bacteria is an increasing problem that is not only constrained to the clinical setting but also to other environments that can lodge antibiotic resistant bacteria and therefore they may serve as reservoirs of genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance. One hundred and thirty-six faecal samples from European wild rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus algirus) were collected on Sao Jorge Island in Azores Archipelago, and analysed for Escherichia coli isolates. Seventy-seven isolates (56.6%) were recovered and studied for antimicrobial resistance, one isolate per positive sample. Thirteen (16.9%), 19 (24.7%), 25 (32.4%) and 20 (26%) isolates were ascribed to A, B1, B2 and D phylogenetic groups, respectively, by specific primer polymerase chain reaction. Different E. coli isolates were found to be resistant to ampicillin (16.9%), tetracycline (1.3%), streptomycin (42.9%), sulfamethoxazole trimethoprim (1.3%), amikacin (1.3%), tobramycin (2.6%) and nalidixic acid (1.3%). Additionally, the bla(TEM), tetA, strA/strB, aadA, sul1, intI, intI2 and qacE triangle + sul1 genes were found in most resistant isolates. This study showed that E. coli from the intestinal tract of wild rabbits from Azores Archipelago are resistant to widely prescribed antibiotics in medicine and they constitute a reservoir of antimicrobial resistant genes, which may play a significant role in the spread of antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, antibiotic resistant E. coli from Azorean wild rabbits may represent an ecological and public health problem.

• 出版日期2014-12