Virulence and antimicrobial resistance ofKlebsiella pneumoniaeisolated from passerine and psittacine birds

Abstract

Klebsiella pneumoniae is considered one of the most important Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens. The contact between humans and birds poses health risks to both. The aim of this study was to investigate the resistance and virulence of K. pneumoniae isolates from psittacines and passerines, seized from illegal trade in Brazil. We analysed 32 strains isolated from birds of the orders Psittaciformes and Passeriformes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for virulence factor genes. Antibiotic resistance was assessed by disk diffusion assay and PCR. The results indicated that fimH (100%), uge (96.8%), kfu (81.2%) and irp-2 (68.7%) were the most common virulence genes, followed by kpn (46.8%), K2 (43.7%), mrkD (34.3%) and iroN (15.6%). The combination of virulence genes resulted in a great diversity of genotypes and the heterogeneity of the strains is also confirmed in the analysis by amplified fragment length polymorphism. The susceptibility profiles of the K. pneumoniae showed 25% of multiple antibiotic resistance strains. We identified seven strains that presented non-extended spectrum beta lactamase blaSHV variants SHV-1 and SHV-11 and one strain positive to the blaTEM-1 gene. Plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance was present in 10 strains (10/32). The data obtained in this study reveal the pathogenic potential of this pathogen and highlight the need for surveillance and monitoring.

Virulence Properties and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Profiles of Klebsiella Species Recovered from Clinically Diseased Broiler Chicken

“…These antibiotic-resistant bacteria can reach to human through consumption of food products from animal origin and by direct contact (Van den Bogaard and Stobberingh, 2000). Our finding is in accordance with a previous literature reported by Davies et al (2016) who reported a 25% multiple drug resistance of K. pneumoniae isolates from passerin and psittacines. Bonnedahl et al (2014) detected 13% MDR strains from the samples they collected from ageese and free-living gulls in Alaska, USA.…”

Isolation and Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles of Enterobacteria from Nestling Grey-Breasted Parakeets (Pyrrhura Griseipectus)

“…Enterobacteria of the genera Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Morganella, Hafnia and Serratia were less frequently isolated in this study; however, their isolation in wild birds was previously reported in other studies (Gibbs et al, 2007;Santos et al, 2010). Those bacteria are responsible for occasional infections and, in some cases, can function as primary pathogens (Gerlach, 1994, Hidasi et al, 2013, Davies et al, 2016 The absence of Salmonella was also observed in other Brazilian studies, with low detection rates in apparently healthy wild birds, whether maintained in captivity or in the wild (Allgayer et al, 2009;Santos et al, 2010;Lopes et al, 2015, Machado et al, 2016. Because psittacines are very sensitive to avian salmonellosis, particularly at young ages , the absence of Salmonella spp in the present study suggests that the evaluated birds were not exposed to any pathogen of this genus (Godoy, 2007).…”

Draft Whole-Genome Sequences of Five Klebsiella pneumoniae Isolates from the Subantarctic Islands of New Zealand

“…This further suggests that the environment and birds may be possible reservoirs of this pathogen. The ST of the environmental isolates from this study was different from that in previous reports on other environmental isolates ( 12 ), suggesting genetic diversity of this bacterium in the environment ( 13 ).…”