Genetic Characteristics and Antimicrobial Resistance of Escherichia Coli From Japanese Macaques (Macaca Fuscata) in Rural Japan

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Escherichia coli was isolated from wild and captive Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) to investigate the risk of zoonotic infections and the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in the wild macaque population in Shimokita Peninsula, a rural area of Japan. We collected 265 fresh fecal samples from wild macaques and 20 samples from captive macaques in 2005 and 2006 for E. coli isolation. The predominant isolates were characterized by serotyping, virulence gene profiling, plasmid profiling, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and microbial sensitivity tests. In total, 248 E. coli strains were isolated from 159 fecal samples from wild macaques, and 42 E. coli were isolated from 17 samples from captive macaques. None of the virulence genes eae, stx, elt, and est were detected in any of the isolates. The relatedness between wild-and captive-derived isolates was low by serotyping, PFGE, and plasmid profiling. Serotypes O8:H6, O8:H34, O8:H42, O8:HUT, O103:H27, O103:HNM, and OUT:H27 were found in wild macaque feces; serotypes O157:H42 and O119:H21 were recovered from captive macaques. Oand H-serotypes of the 26 isolates were not typed by commercial typing antisera and were named OUT and HUT, respectively. Twenty-eight isolates had no flagellar antigen, and their H-serotypes were named HNM. Similarity of PFGE patterns between wild-derived isolates and captivederived isolates was ,70%. No plasmid profile was shared between wild-derived and captivederived isolates. The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli was 6.5% (n562) in wild macaques, and these isolates were resistant to cephalothin. We conclude that wild Japanese macaques in Shimokita Peninsula were unlikely to act as a reservoir of pathogenic E. coli for humans and that antimicrobial-resistant E. coli in wild macaques may be derived from humans.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of <i>Escherichia coli</i> isolates obtained from wild mammals between 2013 and 2017 in Japan

“…Regarding the resistance to β-lactam antibiotics in wild animals in Japan, penicillin antibiotics were tested before 2000 [12,13,20,26], whereas, from then on, both penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics were tested [11,22]. Resistance to penicillin antibiotics was rarely found, and resistance to cephalosporins was never detected, except for E. coli resistance to cephalothin in 6.5% of Japanese monkeys from the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture [22]. In the present study, one isolate from a rat captured in a poultry house exhibited resistance to CTX, a third-generation cephalosporin, and carried bla CTX-M-1 , an extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) gene, which is frequently found in E. coli from food animals [9].…”

Zoonotic pathogens in wild Asian primates: a systematic review highlighting research gaps

“…The prevalence and risk of transmission of viruses transmitted through physical contact or aerosols are expected to be higher in urban habitats such as at touristic sites and temples in Asia ( 116 , 118 , 119 ), where close and frequent human–primate contacts are common ( 101 ). In rural landscapes, agricultural practices, such as the use of antibiotics, can also contribute to drug resistance of bacteria and therefore increase their prevalence in primates ( 135 ). Conversely, other several studies on African primates have shown a higher richness and prevalence of GI parasites in populations from disturbed forests compared with more preserved habitats ( 177 , 178 ).…”

Surveillance of antibiotic resistance in <i>Escherichia coli</i> isolated from wild cranes on the Izumi plain in Kagoshima prefecture, Japan

“…The overlapping of living areas between wildlife and other animal species, such as human and livestock, leads to a rapid change in the antibiotic resistance of bacteria colonized in wild animals [3, 11]. Therefore, several recent Japanese studies have begun to consider the role of wildlife as sentinels for antimicrobial resistance over a decade [10, 16, 18, 19]. Our results demonstrated that antibiotic resistance has remained low in E. coli.…”