Nasotracheal Microbiota of Nestlings of Parent White storks with Different Foraging Habits in Spain

Migratory storks could be vectors of transmission of bacteria of public health concern mediated by the colonization, persistence and excretion of such bacteria. This study aims to determine genera/species diversity, prevalence, and co-colonization indices of bacteria obtained from tracheal (T) and nasal (N) samples from storks in relation to exposure to point sources through foraging. One-hundred and thirty-six samples from 87 nestlings of colonies of parent white storks with different foraging habits (natural habitat and landfills) were obtained (84 T-samples and 52 N-samples) and processed. Morphologically distinct colonies (up to 12/sample) were randomly selected and identified by MALDI-TOF-MS. About 87.2% of the total 806 isolates recovered were identified: 398 from T-samples (56.6%) and 305 from N-samples (43.4%). Among identified isolates, 17 genera and 46 species of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were detected, Staphylococcus (58.0%) and Enterococcus (20.5%) being the most prevalent genera. S. sciuri was the most prevalent species from T (36.7%) and N (34.4%) cavities of total isolates, followed by E. faecalis (11.1% each from T and N), and S. aureus [T (6.5%), N (13.4%)]. Of N-samples, E. faecium was significantly associated with nestlings of parent storks foraging in landfills (p = 0.018). S. sciuri (p = 0.0034) and M. caseolyticus (p = 0.032) from T-samples were significantly higher among nestlings of parent storks foraging in natural habitats. More than 80% of bacterial species in the T and N cavities showed 1–10% co-colonization indices with one another, but few had ≥ 40% indices. S. sciuri and E. faecalis were the most frequent species identified in the stork nestlings. Moreover, they were highly colonized by other diverse and potentially pathogenic bacteria. Thus, storks could be sentinels of point sources and vehicles of bacterial transmission across the “One Health” ecosystems.This work was supported by the project PID2019-106158RB-I00 of the MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 of Spain and project SBPLY/19/180501/000325 of the regional government of Castilla—La Mancha co-financed by the European Union’s funds for regional development (Feder). Also, it received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agrrement No. 801586. J.P.-P. was supported by a postdoctoral grant Margarita Salas from the European Union – Next GenerationEU through the Complutense University of Madrid.Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature.Peer reviewe

Antimicrobial resistome of coagulase-negative staphylococci from nasotracheal cavities of nestlings of Ciconia ciconia in Southern Spain: Detection of mecC-SCCmec type-XI-carrying S. lentus

The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes of 268 non-duplicated coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) previously obtained from nasotracheal cavities of nestling storks were characterized. They included S. sciuri isolates (n = 191), and non-sciuri-CoNS isolates (NSc-CoNS, n = 77). All S. sciuri carried the intrinsic salA gene (for clindamycin-resistance) and so, clindamycin was not considered for general analysis in this species. About 71.7%/41.6% of the S. sciuri/NSc-CoNS isolates were susceptible to all antibiotics tested; moreover, 14.1%/16.9% and 3.1%/20.8% of S. sciuri/NSc-CoNS showed single antibiotic resistance and multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype, respectively. Of the ten mecA-positive CoNS isolates, six were associated with SCCmec types-III, -IV or -V elements. Remarkably was the detection of one MDR-S. lentus isolate carrying both mecA and mecC genes, as well as the SCCmec type-XI element. MDR-CoNS was relatively higher in nestlings of parent storks foraging in landfills (21.3%) than those in natural areas (9.7%) (χ2 = 3.421, df=1, p = 0.064). AMR phenotypes (and genes detected) include penicillin (blaZ, blaARL), erythromycin-clindamycin-constitutive (ermA, ermC, ermT), clindamycin (lnuA, salA, vgaA), erythromycin (msrA, mphC), tetracycline (tetK, tetL, tetM), tobramycin (ant4′), tobramycin-gentamicin (aac6′-aph2″), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (dfrA, dfrG, dfrK), chloramphenicol (fexA, fexB, catPC221), and mupirocin (mupA). Interestingly, one S. epidermidis isolate carried the ermT gene. About 29.9% of nestlings harboured more than one non-duplicated CoNS (with varied 2–5 AMR profiles). This study demonstrated that most of the CoNS isolates were susceptible to all the antibiotics tested (63.1%). However, AMR genes of public health importance were found, including the mecC-mediated methicillin resistance trait.This work was financed by MCIN/ AEI /10.13039/501100011033 of Spain. Also, it received funding from the European Union’s H2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement N° 801586.Peer reviewe

Louping Ill in Goats, Spain, 2011

Although louping ill affects mainly sheep, a 2011 outbreak in northern Spain occurred among goats. Histopathologic lesions and molecular genetics identified a new strain of louping ill virus, 94% identical to the strain from Britain. Surveillance is needed to minimize risk to domestic and wildlife species and humans