The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in two species of invasive alien mammals in Japan

J Vet Med Sci. 2011 Aug;73(8):1067-70. doi: 10.1292/jvms.10-0525. Epub 2011 Apr 4.

Abstract

The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in 128 Escherichia coli isolates was investigated in two species of invasive alien mammals (IAMs): the small Asian mongoose (SAM) and Japanese weasel (JW). The SAM is found on the main island of Okinawa, Japan, where a large number of livestock is available, and the JW is present on a small island, where is isolated from the main island, and have a small number of livestock. We focused on the two IAMs, inhabiting under the different environments, and compared their prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli. In the comparison of the frequencies of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli isolates between the SAM and JW, JW showed significantly higher prevalence of resistance against three drugs, ampicillin, chlortetracycline and nalidixic acid, compared with SAM's test results (P<0.05). The bla(TEM) gene and the aph1 gene were detected in 35 subjects (91%) of ampicillin-resistant isolates and 6 subjects (100%) of kanamycin-resistant isolates, respectively. The tet (A) gene was detected in 62 subjects (46%) of CTC-resistant isolates, and the tet (B) gene was detected in 25 subjects (8%) of those in IAM. The present results suggest that some IAMs were the carrier of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and their genes, and the frequencies of these resistances were different between two IAM species.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Drug Resistance, Bacterial* / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / drug effects
  • Escherichia coli / genetics
  • Escherichia coli / isolation & purification*
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Herpestidae / microbiology*
  • Introduced Species*
  • Japan
  • Microbial Sensitivity Tests / veterinary
  • Mustelidae / microbiology*

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents