Temporal variations in patterns of<i>Escherichia coli</i>strain diversity and antimicrobial resistance in the migrant Egyptian vulture

Abstract

<b>Aims</b>: Multiple antimicrobial resistance in <i>Escherichia coli</i> of wild vertebrates is a global concern with scarce assessments on the subject from developing countries that have high human-wild species interactions. We studied the ecology of <i>E. coli</i> in a wintering population of Egyptian Vultures in India to understand temporal changes in both <i>E. coli</i> strains and patterns of antimicrobial resistance. <b>Methods and Results</b>: We ribotyped <i>E. coli</i> strains and assessed antimicrobial resistance from wintering vultures at a highly synanthropic carcass dump in north-west India. Both <i>E. coli</i> occurence (90.32%) and resistance to multiple antimicrobials (71.43%) were very high. Clear temporal patterns were apparent. Diversity of strains changed and homogenized at the end of the Vultures' wintering period, while the resistance pattern showed significantly difference inter-annually, as well as between arrival and departing individuals within a wintering cycle. <b>Significance of study</b>: The carcass dump environment altered both <i>E. coli</i> strains and multiple antimicrobial resistance in migratory Egyptian Vultures within a season. Long-distance migratory species could therefore disseminate resistant <i>E. coli</i> strains across broad geographical scales rendering regional mitigation strategies to control multiple antimicrobial resistance in bacteria ineffective.