Bacterial resistance in bats from the Phyllostomidae family and its relationship with unique health

Abstract

The Phyllostomidae family is important among the bats found in Brazil, with several species and diverse eating habits, and is the only one to have frugivorous representatives. These bats can be found in urban and in wild life environments in search for the best reproductive and feeding conditions. The versatility of environments can be associated with the incidence and/or distribution of some diseases through pathogenic agents. The present paper has the purpose to identify the oral and perianal microbiota and to detect the bacterial resistance of frugivorous bats captured near communities inhabited by humans in the northwestern region of the state of Paraná. A total of 68 bats were captured, belonging to four species of the Phyllostomidae family, namely Artibeus lituratus, Artibeus planirostris, Carollia perspicillata and Sturnira lillium, originated from forest fragments in the micro region of Umuarama, state of Paraná. A total of 64 isolates from oral bacteria and 39 from perianal region were submitted to identification. They were later submitted to a susceptibility test to 22 human and veterinary antimicrobials. The most prevalent bacteria were Escherichia coli 33.3% in the oral region, and 35.90% in the perianal region, Enterobacter aerogenes 12.7% and 5.13%, Enterobacter agglomerans 7.9% and 10.25%, and Serratia liquefaciens 9.5% and 5.13% in the oral and perianal region respectively. All bat species studied had resistant strains, with a few of them presenting multi-resistance to antimicrobials. The species with the highest multi-resistance index to antimicrobials was Carollia perspicillata, with three strains of the oral region resistant to 15 antimicrobials; it also presented two strains in the perianal region, which were resistant to 13 and 10 antimicrobials respectively. Based on the results found, it is possible to conclude that the oral and perianal microbiota of bats is composed of several enterobacterial species resistant to one or several antimicrobials used in human and veterinarian medicine. This is an issue and a future warning for unique health, since high percentages of resistance were found against antimicrobials broadly used, such as ampicillin, amoxicillin and amoxicillin+clavulonate.

Quantification of the neurons of myenteric plexus of the bat molossus rufus

“…Regarding the studies on the bats' digestive tube, they stand out for their histology (Makanya et al 2001, Gadelha-Alves et al 2008, Strobel et al 2015, Zhang et al 2015 and microbiology (Ingala et al 2018, Sens Junior et al 2018. However, Barry-Jr (1976) already emphasized the little research about the different segments of this system, including the intestine to wild mammals, a real fact still today, once that the studies on ENS are widely disseminated to rodents (Karaosmanoglu et al 1996, Tan et al 2008, Luesma et al 2013, Grundmann et al 2015, Kulkarni et al 2017 and more recently to primates (Noorian et al 2011), but in terms of other groups of wild mammals, not employed in experimental models, the absence of data is notorious.…”

Bats and Antibiotic Resistance: A Culprit or a Victim?

“…Their flight ability allows them to be in constant movement for food and shelter and to migrate from one region to another (large territorial range of some species). This activity increases the chance of being exposed to antimicrobials, raising the risk of developing, changing, or acquiring a new microbiota (Sens-Junior et al, 2018). Their longevity (some individuals can live up to 30 years) and the realization of periods of hibernation and torpor by some species, allow microorganisms to persist for long periods in the spots where animals are inhabiting and facilitate their transmission between individuals (Sens- Junior et al, 2018).…”

“…In some countries, antimicrobials agents are still used in domestic animals for their protection and improver, such as prophylaxis of diseases. These animals can act as a source of environmental contamination (Sens-Junior et al, 2018). In many caverns, there is a network of underground water channels that have contact with the exterior environment.…”

Evidence of Antimicrobial Resistance in Bats and Its Planetary Health Impact for Surveillance of Zoonotic Spillover Events: A Scoping Review

“…In the Americas, two studies from Brazil observed diverse species of bats and isolated hundreds of E. coli species from bats' fecal and oral samples [33,35]. Both studies reported low levels of resistance towards antibiotics such as amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, gentami-cin and imipenem.…”

“…As a consequence, they acquire a wide variety of microorganisms, ranging from deadly viruses to multidrug resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens. Despite bats being a potential reservoir of bacterial pathogens, extensive studies in the search for bat bacterial flora are lacking [33,35]. Bacterial isolates from bats can acquire high resistance from human and domestic animals, or vice versa through contact as per previous reports [36].…”