Antimicrobial resistance and virulence profiles of Enterobacterales isolated from two-finger and three-finger sloths ( Choloepus hoffmanni and Bradypus variegatus ) of Costa Rica

PeerJ

article

Matilde Fernandes¹  Carla Nóbrega Carneiro¹  Ana Maria Villada Rosales²  Miguel Grilo¹  Yolanda Ramiro²  Eva Cunha¹  Telmo Nunes¹  Luís Tavares¹  Janet Sandi²  Manuela Oliveira¹ 

[1] CIISA–Centro de Investigação Interdisciplinar em Sanidade Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa;Toucan Rescue Ranch

关键词: Antimicrobial resistance;    Bacterial virulence factors;    Wildlife bacteria;    One health;    Choloepus hoffmanni;    Bradypus variegatus;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.12911

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

Background Wildlife has been recently recognized as an environmental reservoir for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, less information on this topic is available in animals released back into the wild after rehabilitation in wildlife facilities, compared with studies performed exclusively in captive or free-ranging wildlife. This study aimed to evaluate the potential influence of captivity and/or treatment while in captivity of wild sloths on the AMR and virulence profiles of sloths’ Enterobacterales. Methods Oral and rectal swab samples were collected from 39 two-finger (Choloepus hoffmanni) and three-finger sloths (Bradypus variegatus) of Costa Rica (n = 78) and analyzed using conventional bacteriological techniques. A generalized linear mixed model was applied to estimate the isolates’ multiple antimicrobial resistance and virulence indices as a function of animal status. Results A considerable level of resistance was detected, especially for Citrobacter youngae and Escherichia coli, with 17.5% of isolates classified as multidrug-resistant. Virulence indices of isolates from rehabilitated sloths were significantly higher than the ones from sloths being hand-reared for shorter periods. Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first description of sloths’ antimicrobial resistant Enterobacterales, suggesting that sloths’ rehabilitation and consequent exposure to humans, may promote the selection of bacteria with higher virulence. Ultimately, these bacteria may represent a threat to human and animal health due to their zoonotic potential and AMR and virulence profiles.

【 授权许可】

CC BY