New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1-producing Citrobacter portucalensis belonging to the novel ST264 causing fatal sepsis in a vulnerable migratory sea turtle

Fábio P Sellera; Danny Fuentes-Castillo; Bruna Fuga; Daphne W Goldberg; Cristiane K M Kolesnikovas; Nilton Lincopan

doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100590

New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1-producing Citrobacter portucalensis belonging to the novel ST264 causing fatal sepsis in a vulnerable migratory sea turtle

One Health. 2023 Jun 22:17:100590. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100590. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Fábio P Sellera^{1

2

3}, Danny Fuentes-Castillo^{3

4}, Bruna Fuga^{3

5

6}, Daphne W Goldberg⁷, Cristiane K M Kolesnikovas⁷, Nilton Lincopan^{3

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
² School of Veterinary Medicine, Metropolitan University of Santos, Santos, Brazil.
³ One Health Brazilian Resistance Project (OneBR), São Paulo, Brazil.
⁴ Departamento de Patología y Medicina Preventiva, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción, Chillán, Chile.
⁵ Department of Clinical Analysis, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁶ Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
⁷ R3 Animal, Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.

Abstract

Olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles migrate across tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Worryingly, olive ridley populations have been declining substantially and is now considered a threatened species. In this regard, habitat degradation, anthropogenic pollution, and infectious diseases have been the most notorious threats for this species. We isolated a metallo-β-lactamase (NDM-1)-producing Citrobacter portucalensis from the blood sample of an infected migratory olive ridley turtle found stranded sick in the coast of Brazil. Genomic analysis of C. portucalensis confirmed a novel sequence type (ST), named ST264, and a wide resistome to broad-spectrum antibiotics. The production of NDM-1 by the strain contributed to treatment failure and death of the animal. Phylogenomic relationship with environmental and human strains from African, European and Asian countries confirmed that critical priority clones of C. portucalensis are spreading beyond hospital settings, representing an emerging ecological threat to marine ecosystems.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Carbapenemase; Lepidochelys olivacea; NDM; Nosocomial bacteria; Wildlife.