TY - JOUR
T1 - Antimicrobial resistant Escherichia coli in Scottish wild deer
T2 - Prevalence and risk factors
AU - Elsby, Derek T.
AU - Zadoks, Ruth N.
AU - Boyd, Kenneth
AU - Silva, Nuno
AU - Chase-Topping, Margo
AU - Mitchel, Mairi C.
AU - Currie, Carol
AU - Taggart, Mark A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The author was funded by the European Social Fund and Scotland's Workforce in the Scotland 2014–2020 European Structural and Investment Fund Programme . Deer sampling and data collection was funded by Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish Government through grant CRF: MRI/104/17 . Agricultural data was gathered from the Scottish agricultural census via Agcensus ( http://agcensus.edina.ac.uk/ ). Special thanks go to Tom McNeilly at MRI, and the national deer health survey committee for allowing access to the samples for this work.
Funding Information:
The author was funded by the European Social Fund and Scotland's Workforce in the Scotland 2014–2020 European Structural and Investment Fund Programme. Deer sampling and data collection was funded by Food Standards Scotland and the Scottish Government through grant CRF: MRI/104/17. Agricultural data was gathered from the Scottish agricultural census via Agcensus (http://agcensus.edina.ac.uk/). Special thanks go to Tom McNeilly at MRI, and the national deer health survey committee for allowing access to the samples for this work.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/9/13
Y1 - 2022/9/13
N2 - Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognised threat to global health. Obtaining data on the prevalence of AMR in environmental bacteria is key to understanding drivers and routes of transmission. Here, 325 Shiga toxin negative deer faecal samples—gathered from across the Scottish mainland—were screened for the presence of AMR Escherichia coli and investigated for potential risk factors associated with AMR occurrence. E. coli with resistance to antimicrobials of clinical health concern, including carbapenems and 3rd generation cephalosporins, were targeted. Ninety-nine percent of samples yielded E. coli, and the prevalence of resistant E. coli at the level of faecal samples was 21.8% (n = 71) for tetracycline, 6.5% (n = 21) for cefpodoxime, 0.3% for ciprofloxacin (n = 1), with no recorded resistance to meropenem. Potential risk factors for tetracycline and cefpodoxime resistance were investigated. The presence of broadleaved woodlands was significantly associated with both AMR phenotypes, which may relate to land use within or around such woodlands. Associated risk factors varied across resistance phenotype and deer species, with proximity or density of horses an indicator of significantly decreased and increased risk, respectively, or tetracycline and cefpodoxime resistance in E. coli from roe deer, but not from red deer. Distance from wastewater treatment plants was a significant risk factor for tetracycline resistance in E. coli from red deer but not from roe deer. Data indicated that AMR E. coli can occur in wild deer populations that are not directly exposed to the selective pressure exerted by antimicrobial treatment. Overall, resistance to critically important antimicrobials was found to be low in the studied population, suggesting no immediate cause for concern regarding human health. Utilising existing culling frameworks, wild deer in Scotland could function well as a sentinel species for the surveillance of AMR in the Scottish environment.
AB - Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a recognised threat to global health. Obtaining data on the prevalence of AMR in environmental bacteria is key to understanding drivers and routes of transmission. Here, 325 Shiga toxin negative deer faecal samples—gathered from across the Scottish mainland—were screened for the presence of AMR Escherichia coli and investigated for potential risk factors associated with AMR occurrence. E. coli with resistance to antimicrobials of clinical health concern, including carbapenems and 3rd generation cephalosporins, were targeted. Ninety-nine percent of samples yielded E. coli, and the prevalence of resistant E. coli at the level of faecal samples was 21.8% (n = 71) for tetracycline, 6.5% (n = 21) for cefpodoxime, 0.3% for ciprofloxacin (n = 1), with no recorded resistance to meropenem. Potential risk factors for tetracycline and cefpodoxime resistance were investigated. The presence of broadleaved woodlands was significantly associated with both AMR phenotypes, which may relate to land use within or around such woodlands. Associated risk factors varied across resistance phenotype and deer species, with proximity or density of horses an indicator of significantly decreased and increased risk, respectively, or tetracycline and cefpodoxime resistance in E. coli from roe deer, but not from red deer. Distance from wastewater treatment plants was a significant risk factor for tetracycline resistance in E. coli from red deer but not from roe deer. Data indicated that AMR E. coli can occur in wild deer populations that are not directly exposed to the selective pressure exerted by antimicrobial treatment. Overall, resistance to critically important antimicrobials was found to be low in the studied population, suggesting no immediate cause for concern regarding human health. Utilising existing culling frameworks, wild deer in Scotland could function well as a sentinel species for the surveillance of AMR in the Scottish environment.
KW - Antimicrobial resistance
KW - Biomonitoring
KW - Deer
KW - E. coli
KW - Faeces
KW - Surveillance
KW - Wildlife
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85138549215
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85138549215#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120129
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120129
M3 - Article
C2 - 36113642
AN - SCOPUS:85138549215
SN - 0269-7491
VL - 314
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
M1 - 120129
ER -
Good health and well being
Clean water and sanitation