摘要

    抗微生物药物耐药性 (AMR) 被认为是一个新兴的公共卫生问题。更高的 AMR 发展率与“抗生素使用”环境有关。在人类化景观中繁衍生息的野生动物可能是这些地区 AMR 和抗生素抗性基因 (ARG) 负担的良好指标。本研究的目的是确定来自智利中部人类化景观的野生安第斯狐狸 (Lycalopex culpaeus) 粪便拭子中 ARG 的存在和负载。从72只狐狸的样本中提取DNA；使用 qPCR 评估了 22 个编码对 8 个抗生素组的抗性的 ARG。发现了 22 个 ARG 中的 18 个，tet(Q)（65.3%；样本的 15/72）是检测到的最常见基因。几乎一半的狐狸表现出“多重耐药微生物组”（即至少三个 ARG 编码对不同抗菌素组的耐药性）。 tet(Q) 的流行在冷湿季高于暖干季，但其他基因没有。在临床环境（野生动物救援中心）中分别饲养 6 天和 11 天并接受抗生素治疗的另外两只狐狸的粪便样本中检测到多达 15 和 13 种 ARG。从公共卫生的角度来看，本研究中检测到的一些 ARG（例如 mecA 和 blaCTX-M）尤其受到关注。在智利中部高度人类化的环境中，野生狐狸似乎是 ARG 环境负担的好哨兵。

    Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered an emerging public health problem. Greater AMR development rate is associated with “antibiotic-using” environments. Wildlife thriving in anthropized landscapes could be good indicators of the burden of AMR and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in these areas. The aim of this study was to determine the presence and load of ARGs in fecal swabs of wild Andean foxes (Lycalopex culpaeus) from anthropized landscapes of central Chile. DNA was extracted from samples of 72 foxes; 22 ARGs encoding resistance against 8 antibiotic groups were evaluated using qPCR. Eighteen of the 22 ARGs were found and tet(Q) (65.3%; 15/72 of the samples) was the most common gene detected. Almost half of the foxes presented a ‘multiresistant microbiome’ (i.e. at least three ARG encoding resistance to different groups of antimicrobials). Prevalence of tet(Q) was higher in the cold-humid season than in the warm-dry season, but not for other genes. Up to 15 and 13 ARGs were detected in the fecal samples from two additional foxes that were kept 6 and 11 days, respectively, in a clinical environment (Wildlife Rescue Center) and received antibiotic treatment. Some of the ARGs detected (e.g. mecA and blaCTX-M) in the present study are of particular concern from the public health perspective. Wild foxes seem to be good sentinels for ARG environmental burden in highly anthropized environments of central Chile.

    https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720317605