Genotypic and Phenotypic Characterization of Pathogenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp., in Free-Living Birds in Mainland Portugal

Rita Batista (), Margarida Saraiva, Teresa Lopes, Leonor Silveira, Anabela Coelho, Rosália Furtado, Rita Castro, Cristina Belo Correia, David Rodrigues, Pedro Henriques, Sara Lóio, Vanessa Soeiro, Paulo Martins da Costa, Mónica Oleastro and Angela Pista
Additional contact information
Rita Batista: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Food and Nutrition Department, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Margarida Saraiva: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Food and Nutrition Department, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055 Oporto, Portugal
Teresa Lopes: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Food and Nutrition Department, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055 Oporto, Portugal
Leonor Silveira: National Reference Laboratory for Gastrointestinal Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Anabela Coelho: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Food and Nutrition Department, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Rosália Furtado: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Food and Nutrition Department, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Rita Castro: National Reference Laboratory for Gastrointestinal Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Cristina Belo Correia: Food Microbiology Laboratory, Food and Nutrition Department, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
David Rodrigues: ESAC-IPC, Coimbra College of Agriculture, Polytechnic of Coimbra, 3045-601 Coimbra, Portugal
Pedro Henriques: ESAC-IPC, Coimbra College of Agriculture, Polytechnic of Coimbra, 3045-601 Coimbra, Portugal
Sara Lóio: Centro de Recuperação de Fauna do Parque Biológico de Gaia, Rua da Cunha, Avintes, 4430-812 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Vanessa Soeiro: Centro de Recuperação de Fauna do Parque Biológico de Gaia, Rua da Cunha, Avintes, 4430-812 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Paulo Martins da Costa: ICBAS—Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira, 228, 4050-313 Oporto, Portugal
Mónica Oleastro: National Reference Laboratory for Gastrointestinal Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal
Angela Pista: National Reference Laboratory for Gastrointestinal Infections, Department of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge, Avenida Padre Cruz, 1649-016 Lisbon, Portugal

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Birds are potential carriers of pathogens affecting humans and agriculture. Aiming to evaluate the occurrence of the top three most important foodborne pathogens in free-living birds in Portugal, we investigated 108 individual fecal samples from free-living birds and one pooled sample of gull feces ( n = 50) for the presence of Escherichia coli (pathogenic and non-pathogenic), Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp. Virulence- and antimicrobial resistance- (AMR) associated genes were detected by PCR and Whole-Genome Sequencing (WGS), and phenotypic (serotyping and AMR profiles) characterization was performed. Overall, 8.9% of samples tested positive for pathogenic E. coli , 2.8% for Salmonella spp., and 9.9% for Campylobacter spp. AMR was performed on all pathogenic isolates and in a fraction of non-pathogenic E. coli , being detected in 25.9% of them. Ten of the tested E. coli isolates were multidrug-resistant (MDR), and seven of them were Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. Among Salmonella ( n = 3) and Campylobacter ( n = 9), only one strain of C. jejuni was identified as MDR. Most of the identified serotypes/sequence types had already been found to be associated with human disease. These results show that free-living birds in Portugal may act as carriers of foodborne pathogens linked to human disease, some of them resistant to critically important antimicrobials.

Keywords: Campylobacter spp.; Salmonella spp.; pathogenic Escherichia coli; whole-genome sequencing; free-living birds; Portugal (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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