Antimicrobial Resistance Profiles, Virulence Determinants, and Biofilm Formation in Enterococci Isolated from Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta): A Potential Threat for Wildlife in Bangladesh?

Abstract

Enterococci are commensal bacteria that inhabit the digestive tracts of animals and humans. The transmission of antibiotic-resistant genes through human–animal contact poses a potential public health risk worldwide, as zoonoses from wildlife reservoirs can occur on every continent. The purpose of this study was to detect Enterococcus spp. in rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) and to investigate their resistance patterns, virulence profiles, and biofilm-forming ability. Conventional screening of rectal swabs (n = 67) from macaques was followed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The biofilm-forming enterococci were determined using the Congo red agar plate assay. Using the disk diffusion test (DDT), antibiogram profiles were determined, followed by resistance and virulence genes identification by PCR. PCR for bacterial species confirmation revealed that 65.7% (44/67) and 22.4% (15/67) of the samples tested positive for E. faecalis and E. faecium, respectively. All the isolated enterococci were biofilm formers. In the DDT, enterococcal isolates exhibited high to moderate resistance to penicillin, rifampin, ampicillin, erythromycin, vancomycin, and linezolid. In the PCR assays, the resistance gene blaTEM was detected in 61.4% (27/44) of E. faecalis and 60% (9/15) of E. faecium isolates. Interestingly, 88.63 % (39/44) of E. faecalis and 100% (15/15) of E. faecium isolates were phenotypically multidrug-resistant. Virulence genes (agg, fsrA, fsrB, fsrC, gelE, sprE, pil, and ace) were more frequent in E. faecalis compared to E. faecium; however, isolates of both Enterococcus spp. were found negative for the cyl gene. As far as we know, the present study has detected, for the first time in Bangladesh, the presence of virulence genes in MDR biofilm-forming enterococci isolated from rhesus macaques. The findings of this study suggest employing epidemiological surveillance along with the one-health approach to monitor these pathogens in wild animals in Bangladesh, which will aid in preventing their potential transmission to humans.

Resistance Profiles and Virulence Determinants in Biofilm-Forming Enterococcus faecium Isolated from Raw Seafood in Bangladesh

“…In addition, employing antimicrobial agents for disease treatment or prevention may apply selective force to both harmful bacteria and symbiotic microorganisms present in the digestive system of seafood. While antibiotic resistance in enterococci isolates has been documented across different origins in Bangladesh [ 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ], there are a lack of data regarding the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in these bacteria specifically in seafood. In this study, all the 41 E. faecium isolates were resistant to ≥3 antimicrobial agents and ≥3 antimicrobial classes (MDR), where a higher resistance was exhibited against penicillin, erythromycin, vancomycin, linezolid, tetracycline, and ampicillin.…”

Characterization of β-lactamase and virulence genes in Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from clinical, environmental and poultry sources in Bangladesh

“…Multidrug-resistant (MDR) isolates were those that were resistant to at least three antibiotic classes [28,29]. The Multiple Antibiotic Resistance (MAR) index was derived by dividing the number of antibiotics an isolate resisted by the total number of antibiotics utilized [30]. E. coli strain ATCC25922 was used as the negative control in the antimicrobial susceptibility tests.…”

Antibacterial Activity and Action Mechanism of Bacteriocin Paracin wx7 as a Selective Biopreservative against Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococcus faecalis in Fresh-Cut Lettuce

“…It can cause life-threatening infections, such as bacteremia, endocarditis, sepsis, meningitis, surgical wound infections, and intra-abdominal infections [4,5]. Up to now, a large number of genes resistant to ampicillin, gentamicin, cephalothin, ofloxacin, teicoplanin, tetracycline, vancomycin, linezolid, daptomycin, etc., have been found among the E. faecalis strains [6][7][8][9]. Antibiotic resistance has made E. faecalis more dangerous.…”