Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from peridomestic Rattus species: A scoping literature review

Theethawat Uea-Anuwong; Kaylee A Byers; Lloyd Christian Wahl; Omid Nekouei; Yrjo Tapio Grohn; Ioannis Magouras

doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100522

Antimicrobial resistance in bacteria isolated from peridomestic Rattus species: A scoping literature review

One Health. 2023 Mar 4:16:100522. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100522. eCollection 2023 Jun.

Authors

Theethawat Uea-Anuwong¹, Kaylee A Byers^{2

3}, Lloyd Christian Wahl⁴, Omid Nekouei^{1

4}, Yrjo Tapio Grohn⁵, Ioannis Magouras^{1

4

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
² Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative, Animal Health Centre, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada.
³ Pacific Institute on Pathogens, Pandemics and Society, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
⁴ Centre for Applied One Health Research and Policy Advice, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
⁵ Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA.
⁶ Veterinary Public Health Institute, Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.

Abstract

Rattus spp. may acquire and disseminate antimicrobial resistant bacteria or antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes. We conducted a scoping review to synthesize available research findings on AMR in Rattus spp. and to describe the size and scope of available literature on AMR epidemiology in Rattus spp. The review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The search focused on scientific peer-reviewed publications focusing on AMR in peridomestic Rattus spp. The review was limited to publications in English available in PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus between 2000 and 2021. The results were summarized descriptively. Thirty-four studies conducted in twenty-one countries were included in this scoping review. Twelve bacterial species with AMR were identified with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus being the two most commonly reported. The resistant bacteria were isolated from species of peridomestic Rattus spp. in which R. norvegicus and R. rattus were the two most commonly studied. Rats were also found to carry multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria including extended-spectrum beta (β)-lactamase (ESBL), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CoRE), and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE). This scoping review suggests that peridomestic Rattus spp. can carry multiple antimicrobial resistant bacteria, indicating their potential to serve as reservoirs and spreaders of AMR thus posing a threat to human and animal health.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; ESBL; MRSA; Peridomestic wildlife; Public health; Rattus.

Publication types

Review