The prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in sympatric wild rodents varies by season and host.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the prevalence and temporal patterns of antimicrobial resistance in wild rodents with no apparent exposure to antimicrobials.


RESULTS
Two sympatric populations of bank voles and wood mice were trapped and individually monitored over a 2- year period for faecal carriage of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli. High prevalences of ampicillin-, chloramphenicol-, tetracycline- and trimethoprim-resistant E. coli were observed. A markedly higher prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli was found in wood mice than in bank voles, with the prevalence in both increasing over time. Superimposed on this trend was a seasonal cycle with a peak prevalence of resistant E. coli in mice in early- to mid-summer and in voles in late summer and early autumn.


CONCLUSIONS
These sympatric rodent species had no obvious contact with antimicrobials, and the difference in resistance profiles between rodent species and seasons suggests that factors present in their environment are unlikely to be drivers of such resistance.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that rodents may represent a reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, transmissible to livestock and man. Furthermore, such findings have implications for human and veterinary medicine regarding antimicrobial usage and subsequent selection of antimicrobial-resistant organisms.
National Centre for Zoonosis Research, Institute of Infection and Global Health, University of Liverpool, Cheshire, UK Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK Institute of Veterinary, Animal and Biomedical Sciences, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand School of Host Immunity and Infection, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
N J
NJ
Williams
C
C
Sherlock
T R
TR
Jones
H E
HE
Clough
S E
SE
Telfer
M
M
Begon
N
N
French
C A
CA
Hart
M
M
Bennett
D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000382:microbiology; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051189:Murinae / Q000382:microbiology; D012621:Seasons; D061350:Sympatry
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000667:Ampicillin