A survey of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from wild sika deer (Cervus nippon) inJapan

摘要

We examined the antimicrobial susceptibility of 848 Escherichia coli isolates from 237 feces samples of wild sika deer (Cervusnippon) captured between 2016 and 2019 in 39 of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Five of the 237 wild sika deer (2.1%) carried E. coliwith resistance to at least one antimicrobial, and all the resistant isolates showed resistance to tetracycline. The resistant isolates contained antimicrobialresistance genes that were similar to those in E. coli derived from humans and farm animals. Although wild sika deer are not currently likelyto be a source for the transmission of antimicrobial resistance in Japan, they can potentially mediate antimicrobial resistance spread by coming into contactwith humans, animals, and their surroundings.