Antibiotic Resistance and Molecular Characterization of Enterobacter cancerogenus Isolated from Wild Birds in Taif Province, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Enterobacter infection can cause diseases such as bacteremia, lower respiratory tract infections, skin and soft-tissue infections, urinary tract infections, etc. Enterobacter could be isolated from natural environments. Enterobacter infections can require prolonged hospitalization and powerful and expensive antimicrobial agents. Increase in the number of resistant and multi-resistant strains of bacteria is a major concern to health officials worldwide. Therefore, the objective of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Enterobacter sp. recovered from wild birds collected in Taif province, Saudi Arabia. Fifty isolates were recovered from cloacal samples of resident wild birds and 32 isolates from cloacal samples of migratory wild birds. Sixteen percent of the isolates from resident birds were multi-resistant to 3-4 groups of antimicrobials, and 84% of the isolates were multi-resistant to 5-10 groups of antimicrobials. Six percent of the isolates from migratory birds were multi-resistant to four groups of antimicrobials and 94% of the isolates were multi-resistant to 5-10 groups of antimicrobials. Sixty-five percent of the most potent multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacterial isolates (> 7 antibiotics) belonged to Enterobacter cancerogenus. Aminoglycoside (strA and strB), b-lactam (bla_TEM), tetracycline (tetA and tetB) and gentamycin (Gmr) resistance genes were detected in all MDR isolates. Multiple plasmids of high molecular weights were found in the same MDR host strain. This suggests that there is a potential for multidrug-resistant bacterial transmission between birds. This study highlights the role of wild birds in the dissemination of multidrug-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes around the world.