Dissemination of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria into the Arctic

Abstract

We show that Escherichia coli isolates originating from Arctic birds carry antimicrobial drug resistance determinants. This fi nding implies that dissemination of drug-resistant bacteria is worldwide. Resistance genes can be found even in a region where no selection pressure for resistance development exists.

Microdilution testing reveals considerable and diverse antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli, thermophilic Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. isolated from wild birds present in urban areas

“…In case of migrating birds, resistant bacteria can be spread over large distances and even in remote areas, as Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10344-017-1125-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. multi-AMR bacteria have been found in arctic wild birds (Sjolund et al 2008). Furthermore, close contact to potentially AMR bacteria increases the liability of uptake as it was shown that Canada geese in direct contact with liquid waste had more antimicrobial resistances than those without (Cole et al 2005).…”

‘Disperse abroad in the land’: the role of wildlife in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance

“…AMR has been detected, particularly among commensal gut bacteria, in wild mammals, birds, reptiles and fish, with the prevalence and resistance patterns varying across species, locations and possibly time (e.g. [3,20,[23][24][25][26][27]). Current data on AMR in wildlife largely consist of series of 'snap shots' proving the presence of resistomes (all of the antibiotic resistance genes found in microbes [13]) in those animals, but little else.…”

“…In communal corvid roosts in Europe and the USA, 2.5-6.0% of faecal samples contained resistance genes for vancomycin, an antimicrobial 'of last resort' in human medicine [23,35]. Gulls carrying medically significant AMR are capable of long-range movements and are increasingly found feeding on anthropogenic waste and nesting in urban areas [24,27,36]. Similarly, in aquatic ecosystems, uneaten food and faeces from human sewage, agriculture and aquaculture containing antimicrobials and AMR bacteria can be ingested by wild fish and other organisms, which can travel enormous distances and in some cases enter the human food chain [20].…”

“…The discovery of multi-drug resistance in species of high conservation value on oceanic islands [25] and in samples from isolated, relatively untouched points on continents [27] provide 'natural experiments' that are ideal for studying patterns and processes in the ecology and evolution of AMR. Monitoring AMR genes within such pristine ecosystems (e.g.…”

“…Arctic or nature reserves with tight biosecurity) or at their interface with human-influenced areas enables us to estimate the frequency with which genes encoding resistance are exchanged in microbial communities. Such microbial communities can exist within human, domestic animal and wildlife populations, as well as the wider environment [27,37].…”