Prevalence of Antimicrobial-resistant <i>Escherichia coli</i> in Environmental Samples from Areas Inhabited by the Endangered <i>Hypotaenidia okinawae</i>

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in pathogens has become a social problem across humans and wild animals. In particular, the environmental contamination caused by AMR should be monitored. In this study, we analyzed the prevalence of Escherichia coli and its AMR, as well as the distribution and genotype of E. coli in environmental soil and water samples from the habitat of the Hypotaenidia okinawae (Okinawa rail), to elucidate the potential of AMR pollution between the bird and its habitat. The habitat of Okinawa rail was divided into a livestock farm area (LA) near human settlements and a forest area (FA) as a non-human living environment. We found that the prevalence of E. coli in environmental samples collected from the LA was 38.2% (13/34), of which 84.6% (11/13) were antimicrobial resistant. In contrast, the prevalence of E. coli in environmental samples collected from the FA was 25.5% (12/47), of which 16.7% (2/12) were antimicrobial resistant. These results indicate that antimicrobial resistant E. coli was more prevalent in the LA than FA. Furthermore, pulsed-field gel electrophoresis analysis revealed a similar pattern of E. coli prevalence. This suggests that the occurrence of environmental pollution of AMR from livestock farms and that the Okinawa rail may become a carrier of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli in the Yambaru region of Okinawa.