Multidrug‐resistant Escherichia coli from free‐living pigeons (Columba livia): Insights into antibiotic environmental contamination and detection of resistance genes

Abstract

Bacterial resistance is a public and one health problem. Free‐living birds can be reservoirs of multidrug‐resistant bacteria and resistance genes. This study aimed to characterize the antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli isolated from free‐living urban pigeons (Columba livia) in South Brazil. Ninety‐two animals were sampled, and one isolate was obtained from each one. The isolates were characterized, and the antimicrobial resistance profile and beta‐lactam and colistin resistance genes were investigated. The isolates were classified as phylogroups B1 (35%), B2 (33%), A (16%) and D (16%), and 14% of the strains had the eae virulence gene. All isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial, and 63% of them were multidrug‐resistant. Geographical location where the pigeons were captured and presence of the eae gene were associated with multidrug resistance. blaVIM and mcr‐1 genes were detected in one and two isolates, respectively. This is the first report of these genes in E. coli of pigeons. The blaVIM‐positive isolate was classified as Shiga toxin‐producing E. coli, and the isolates with mcr‐1 were classified as Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli and Enteropathogenic E. coli, which raise additional concerns related to public health since these are zoonotic pathotypes. The results reveal that pigeons carry multidrug‐resistant pathogenic E. coli, which may interest public health. Nonetheless, further studies on whether these animals are sources of contamination for humans must be performed to understand their role in spreading antimicrobial resistance.

Effect of Phorate on the Development of Hyperglycaemia in Mouse and Resistance Genes in Intestinal Microbiota

“…It remains unknown whether animals can develop resistance after exposure to phorate. Nevertheless, the emergence of resistance is thought to be linked to the use of antibiotics, which pose a threat to human and animal health [ 7 ]. In humans and animals, the gut is the key reservoir of microbial communities, comprising both commensal and pathogenic bacteria [ 8 ].…”