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J Wildl Dis.: Prevalence and antibiotic-resistance
characteristics of Enterococcus species isolated from free-living and
captive raptors in central Illinois.
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Birds of prey
(Health aspects) Enterococcus (Health aspects) Enterococcus (Physiological aspects) Drug resistance in microorganisms (Research) |
| Authors: |
Marrow, J. Whittington, J.K. Mitchell, M. |
| Pub Date: | 06/01/2009 |
| Publication: | Name: Journal of Avian Medicine and Surgery Publisher: Association of Avian Veterinarians Audience: Academic Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Health Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2009 Association of Avian Veterinarians ISSN: 1082-6742 |
| Issue: | Date: June, 2009 Source Volume: 23 Source Issue: 2 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 310 Science & research |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: United States Geographic Name: Illinois Geographic Code: 1USA United States; 1U3IL Illinois |
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| Accession Number: | 252006964 |
| Full Text: |
Because of their predatory nature, raptor species may serve as
important indicators of environmental contamination with
antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. Raptors prey on small rodents and
birds that have diverse habitat ranges, including urban and rural
environments, and their intestinal microflora can reflect that of the
animals on which they feed. Enterococcus species were selected as target
organisms because they have been isolated from the avian
gastrointestinal tract, can be conferred by prey items, and are capable
of multiple resistance patterns. They are also a concerning source of
human antimicrobial resistance. In this study, fecal cultures were
obtained from May 15, 2004 to August 31, 2004, from 21 free-living
raptors and 4 captive raptors. Enterococcus was isolated from 21 (84%)
of the 25 birds, and 54 isolates were chosen for further study based
upon unique colony morphology. The most common isolate recovered was
Enterococcus faecalis (95%; 95% confidence interval, 89-100). One bird
in the study was determined to have Enterococcus gallinarum. Two
distinct ribotypes of E faecalis were identified, one with unique bands
at 11 and 13 kb and the other with unique bands at 14 and 20 kb. Both
ribotypes were found in free-living and captive birds. The Enterococcus
isolates in this study demonstrated a variety of antimicrobialresistance
characteristics, including almost complete resistance to amikacin,
first-generation cephalosporins, spectinomycin, and sulphadimethoxime.
Isolates demonstrated variable resistance to chloramphenicol,
gentamicin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, and ticarcillin. No
phenotypically vancomycin-resistant E faecalis isolates were recovered
from any of the raptors; 3 isolates had intermediate-level
susceptibility. A significantly higher number of isolates collected from
captive birds demonstrated resistance to chloramphenicol than those
obtained from flee-living birds. This trend was not duplicated with any
of the remaining 18 antimicrobial drugs tested. The results of this
study suggest that raptors in central Illinois are coming into contact
with antimicrobials, prey exposed to antimicrobials, or bacteria that
are capable of transferring resistance genes. Further study is needed to
determine the source of antimicrobial-resistant Enterococcus in
free-living raptors, but the limited data reflecting few differences
between birds with and without antimicrobial exposure suggest that
treatment and release of treated wild raptors is not contributing
significantly to antimicrobial resistance in the environment. et al. 2009;45:302-313. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2009 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |