title: Survey of antibiotic-resistant bacteria isolated from bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in the southeastern USA.
abstract: Contamination of coastal waters can carry pathogens and contaminants that cause diseases in humans and wildlife, and these pathogens can be transported by water to areas where they are not indigenous. Marine mammals may be indicators of potential health effects from such pathogens and toxins. Here we isolated bacterial species of relevance to humans from wild bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus and assayed isolated bacteria for antibiotic resistance. Samples were collected during capture-release dolphin health assessments at multiple coastal and estuarine sites along the US mid-Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. These samples were transported on ice and evaluated using commercial systems and aerobic culture techniques routinely employed in clinical laboratories. The most common bacteria identified were species belonging to the genus Vibrio, although Escherichia coli, Shewanella putrefaciens, and Pseudomonas fluorescens/putida were also common. Some of the bacterial species identified have been associated with human illness, including a strain of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) identified in 1 sample. Widespread antibiotic resistance was observed among all sites, although the percentage of resistant isolates varied across sites and across time. These data provide a baseline for future comparisons of the bacteria that colonize bottlenose dolphins in the southeastern USA.
authors.affiliation: University of North Carolina, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, USA.
authors.forename: Jill R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: Forrest I
authors.initials: FI
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.forename: Suzanne M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Lane
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dyar
authors.forename: Aleta A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Hohn
authors.forename: Teri K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Rowles
authors.forename: Lydia A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Staggs
authors.forename: Randall S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Brian C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Balmer
authors.forename: Lori H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Schwacke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects*; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000382:microbiology*; D002353:Carrier State; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents