Abstract
Livingstone's fruit bats (Pteropus livingstonii) are critically endangered and a captive population has been established as part of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Action Plan. The largest colony, in Jersey Zoo, was sampled for staphylococcal carriage and at infection sites, as disease associated with staphylococci had previously been found. Staphylococci were cultured from swabs from 44 bats (skin, oropharynx, mouth ejecta, skin lesions) and from their enclosure. The isolates were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization time of flight mass spectrometry; antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion and screening for mecA and mecC. Seventeen species of coagulase-negative staphylococci including Staphylococcus xylosus, S. kloosii, S. nepalensis, and S. simiae were isolated. Staphylococcus aureus was identified from both carriage and lesional sites. These findings suggest S. nepalensis may be part of the normal carriage flora of bats. Antimicrobial resistance rates were low and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was not identified. Sampling of mouth ejecta for staphylococci may provide results representative for carriage sites.
Highlights
Conservation interventions to assist endangered species of wildlife often involve moving 45 individuals from one place to another, sometimes with a period of captivity which may be very brief or encompass many generations.[15]
Staphylococcus aureus and other staphylococci had been involved in skin, soft tissue, bone and internal infections, some of which had resulted in death or euthanasia
Livingstone’s fruit bats and their enclosure at Jersey Zoo (JZ), were sampled on three occasions between 2014 and 2016.22 Bats were sampled opportunistically by swabbing healthy ventral wing skin, oropharyngeal mucosae in bats anaesthetised for other purposes, mouth ejecta and skin lesions, using cotton swabs dipped in 70 tryptic soy broth (OxoidTM, Thermo Fisher Scientific Ltd, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG24 8PW, UK)
Summary
Livingstone’s fruit bats (Pteropus livingstonii) are Critically Endangered and a captive population has been established as part of the IUCN Species Action Plan. The largest colony, in Jersey Zoo, was sampled for staphylococcal carriage and at infection sites, as disease associated with staphylococci had previously been found. Staphylococci were 30 cultured from swabs from 44 bats (skin, oropharynx, mouth ejecta, skin lesions) and from their enclosure. The isolates were identified by MALDI-TOF; antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by disc diffusion and screening for mecA and mecC. Seventeen species of coagulase-negative staphylococci including Staphylococcus xylosus, S. kloosii, S. nepalensis and S. simiae were isolated. Staphylococcus aureus was identified from both 35 carriage and lesional sites. These findings suggest S. nepalensis may be part of the normal carriage flora of bats. Sampling of mouth ejecta for staphylococci may provide results representative for carriage sites
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