Surveillance of critical priority bacterial pathogens in wild and exotic animals

• Grant number: 23/12538-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Microbiology - Applied Microbiology
• Principal Investigator: Nilton Erbet Lincopan Huenuman
• Grantee: Guilherme Emanuel Pereira de Paiva
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The emergence and dissemination of pathogens resistant to multiple antimicrobials is a global public health issue, not confined solely to the hospital environment, but encompassing the imperatives of One Health. This project aims to investigate the presence of critically prioritized bacterial pathogens, as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), encompassing species of clinical significance that produce extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and/or carbapenemases, within wild and exotic animals in the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Bacterial samples and/or isolates submitted by partner institutions during 2023 and 2024, with prior ethical committee approval, will be screened using pre-established protocols and selective media with antibiotics to isolate critical priority bacteria. Bacterial isolates will be identified using MALDI-TOF, and their resistance profiles will be investigated through qualitative (disk diffusion) and/or quantitative (MIC) antibiogram studies. Genomic data of clinical and epidemiological relevance (resistome, mobilome, virulome, MLST) will be obtained through sequencing the strains of interest using the Illumina NextSeq platform. All information will be publicly accessible through the OneBR platform (http://www.onehealthbr.com/).The outcomes of this study will provide epidemiological surveillance data for the management, treatment, and development of strategies to control the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens of clinical significance at the human-animal interface. Preliminary results are avaliable at the end of this project.