1. Clostridioides difficileand multi-drug-resistant staphylococci in free-living rodents and marsupials in parks of Belo Horizonte, Brazil
- Author
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Santana, Jordana Almeida, Colombo, Salene Angelini, Silva, Brendhal Almeida, Diniz, Amanda Nádia, de Almeida, Lara Ribeiro, Oliveira Junior, Carlos Augusto, Lobato, Francisco Carlos Faria, de Souza Trindade, Giliane, Paglia, Adriano Pereira, and Silva, Rodrigo Otávio Silveira
- Abstract
The global emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a serious threat to human and animal health. Recent studies have shown that synanthropic animals can act as reservoirs and disseminators of pathogens and resistant bacteria. The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency, distribution, and antimicrobial susceptibility of staphylococcal species and Clostridioides difficileisolated from the feces of free-living rodents and marsupials from two urban parks in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. During a 12-month period, fecal samples from 159 free-living animals, including 136 rodents and 23 marsupials, were collected from two urban parks in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Staphylococcusspp. were more likely to be isolated from rodents than marsupials (p= 0.0164). Eight different staphylococcal species were isolated from 36 (26.5%) rodents and one marsupial (4.3%). S. saprophyticus(48.6%) was the most frequently isolated species, and almost a quarter of the isolates (24.3%) were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent, four (10.8%) of which were multi-drug resistant (MDR). Two (5.4%) strains were resistant to cefoxitin and were then classified as methicillin-resistant staphylococci, and one also tested positive for the mecAgene. C. difficilewas isolated from two rodents (1.5%), and one strain was toxigenic and classified as ribotype 064. One isolate was resistant to rifampicin, but both strains were susceptible to all other antimicrobials tested, including metronidazole and vancomycin. All C. difficileisolates and all staphylococcal strains resistant to antimicrobials were recovered from the same park. The present study suggests that free-living rodents in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) are mainly colonized by S. saprophyticusand may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant Staphylococcusspp. and C. difficilestrains. This is the first study to evaluate the presence of staphylococci and C. difficilefrom free-living opossums and suggest a low fecal shedding of these organisms by these mammals.
- Published
- 2022
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