title: Microbiological diagnosis and antimicrobial sensitivity profiles in diseased free-living raptors.
abstract: Free-living raptors (birds of prey) can act as reservoirs of potentially zoonotic agents, but they also can be affected by microorganisms as target hosts. In this retrospective study, microbiological results (n = 663) and antibiotic sensitivity profiles (n = 108) of bacterial isolates were analysed from diseased free-living raptors. Sixty-nine percent of cases (n = 457) yielded bacteria: 58% were in pure culture and 42% were of different species. Remarkably, samples from necropsies (47%) had higher percentage of pure isolations than those obtained from clinical (31%) samples (P < 0.001). Among bacterial isolates, Escherichia coli was the most common agent (35%), principally recovered from necropsied birds with clinical signs of septicaemia or respiratory disorders. Pseudomonas aeruginosa (7%) was isolated from birds with systemic infection and from oral lesions, especially in nocturnal raptors (P < 0.001). Staphylococcus spp. (5%), mainly Staphylococcus aureus, was found to be the most prevalent cause of pododermatitis (35%) and Staphylococcus hyicus was isolated from conjunctivitis (18.2%). Interestingly, 8% of samples with lesions compatible with avian tuberculosis were positive to the Mycobacterium avium complex. The most frequent fungi associated with pneumonic lesions and ingluvitis were Aspergillus spp. and Candida spp., respectively. More than 50% of the 108 isolates (34 different bacterial spp.) demonstrated resistance to clindamycin, ampicillin, tetracycline, cefuroxime, enrofloxacin and trimethoprim/sulphamethoxazole. Among the E. coli strains, 71% (27/38) presented a multidrug-resistance pattern to >3 antimicrobials. Detection in wildlife of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens that might be significant at the animal-human-ecosystem interface is of great relevance under the 'One Health' approach.
authors.affiliation: a Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Spain.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: a Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Spain.
authors.forename: Laia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baldomà
authors.affiliation: b Catalan Wildlife Service , Centre de Fauna Salvatge de Torreferrussa , Santa Perpètua de Mogoda , Spain.
authors.forename: Rafael A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Molina-López
authors.affiliation: a Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Spain.|c Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA) , Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Spain.
authors.forename: Marga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: a Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària , Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Spain.|c Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA) , Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) , Cerdanyola del Vallès , Spain.
authors.forename: Laila
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9027-9452
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Darwich
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D025141:Drug Resistance, Fungal; D005658:Fungi / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009181:Mycoses / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D020304:Raptors / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents
keywords: Microbiological diagnosis; antimicrobial resistance; avian pathology; bacterial infections; wild free-living raptors; zoonotic organisms