VIM‐1 carbapenemase‐producing Escherichia coli in gulls from southern France

Abstract

Acquired carbapenemases currently pose one of the most worrying public health threats related to antimicrobial resistance. A NDM‐1‐producing Salmonella Corvallis was reported in 2013 in a wild raptor. Further research was needed to understand the role of wild birds in the transmission of bacteria resistant to carbapenems. Our aim was to investigate the presence of carbapenem‐resistant Escherichia coli in gulls from southern France. In 2012, we collected 158 cloacal swabs samples from two gull species: yellow‐legged gulls (Larus michahellis) that live in close contact with humans and slender‐billed gulls (Chroicocephalus genei) that feed at sea. We molecularly compared the carbapenem‐resistant bacteria we isolated through culture on selective media with the carbapenem‐susceptible strains sampled from both gull species and from stool samples of humans hospitalized in the study area. The genes coding for carbapenemases were tested by multiplex PCR. We isolated 22 carbapenem‐resistant E. coli strains from yellow‐legged gulls while none were isolated from slender‐billed gulls. All carbapenem‐resistant isolates were positive for bla VIM ‐1 gene. VIM‐1‐producing E. coli were closely related to carbapenem‐susceptible strains isolated from the two gull species but also to human strains. Our results are alarming enough to make it urgently necessary to determine the contamination source of the bacteria we identified. More generally, our work highlights the need to develop more bridges between studies focusing on wildlife and humans in order to improve our knowledge of resistant bacteria transmission routes.

Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistant C. jejuni and E. coli in Wild Birds, Chickens, Environment and Humans from Orang Asli Villages in Sungai Siput, Perak, Malaysia

“…Different eating habits affect the occurrence of E. coli found in wild birds, as reported by some studies (Sharma et al, 2018;Vittecoq et al, 2017). From this current study, it was found that the birds displayed higher occurrence of E. coli.…”

Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in wildlife, food-producing, and companion animals: a systematic review

“…Wildlife acquires CRE for example by contact with sewage, manure, or waste disposal sites [93]. Importantly, we found several reports describing CRE in swallows, black kites, storks, or gulls (with a high prevalence in France and Australia), demonstrating that these birds may act as reservoirs for bla NDM , bla OXA-48 , bla IMP , bla VIM-1 , and bla KPC-2 [25,78,79,82,83,85]. These findings raise concern because they indicate that these carbapenemases are prevalent in the environment in amounts that not only lead to colonization of wildlife, but also because these (migratory) birds may act as vectors facilitating the spread of CRE beyond borders of farms, dwelling zones, countries, or even continents.…”

“…specimen tested) [77,79,82]. In companion animals, 2.4e4% of cats, 1.5e2.6% of dogs, and 4% of horses tested in Algeria [67,68], as well as 0.6% of the dogs in France and Spain carried CRE [70,73].…”

“…3. As shown in Tables 2 and S3, CRE isolates harbouring bla OXA-48 , bla NDM-1 , bla NDM-5 , bla NDM-9 , or bla-VIM-1 were detected in dogs [25,67,68,70e75], bla OXA-48 , bla IMP-4 , or bla NDM-1 in cats [67e69, 71,74,75], bla OXA-48 in horses [68,71], bla OXA-48 in pet birds [68], bla NDM-1 and bla NDM-5 in swallows [25], bla OXA-48 in wild boars [77], bla OXA-48 in wild storks [78], bla IMP , bla VIM-1 , and bla KPC-2 in silver and yellow-legged gulls [79,82,85] and bla NDM-1 in a black kite [83]. Carbapenemase-encoding genes were found in the following bacterial species isolated from companion animals and wildlife: E. coli (bla OXA-48 , bla NDM-1 , bla NDM-5 , bla NDM-9 , bla IMP-4 , bla VIM-1 , bla KPC-2 ), Klebsiella spp.…”

Clinical Laboratory Aspect of Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae

“…Among wildlife, two studies found a high prevalence of CRE among silver gulls and yellow-legged gulls in France (19.4%) [4]. The occurrence of CRE in livestock, seafood, wildlife, pets, and directly exposed humans poses a risk for public health.…”