Plasmid Mapping in Antimicrobial-Resistant Enterobacteria in a Veterinary hospital: Human-Animal-Environment Interfaces.

• Grant number: 25/14455-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: January 26, 2026
• End date: July 25, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Paola Castro Moraes
• Grantee: Pamella Almeida Freire Casemiro
• Supervisor: Apostolos Liakopoulos
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Jaboticabal. Jaboticabal , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Utrecht University (UU), Netherlands
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/00239-8 - GENOTYPIC PROFILE OF Staphylococcus Spp. STRAINS ISOLATED FROM ULCERATIVE KERATITIS IN DOGS, BP.DR

Abstract

The presence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae resistant to meropenem and colistin represents a significant One Health challenge due to treatment difficulties and rapid dissemination mediated by circular DNA elements, plasmids. It is known that animals play an important role in the transmission chain; thus, individuals who work directly with them constitute a risk group for becoming carriers, posing a threat both to themselves and to the communities in which they live. We therefore propose a study aimed at identifying three important types of resistance present in these plasmids, as well as characterizing the mobile genetic elements involved in the dissemination of these resistance genes. To achieve this, resistant Enterobacteriaceae will be isolated and screened from nasal and hand swabs of humans (veterinarians, nurses, and cleaning staff) and fecal samples from patients of veterinary hospital at UNESP-FCAV. After screening for ESBL production and resistance associated with meropenem and colistin, the samples will be sent to Utrecht, the Netherlands, where the detection, characterization, and whole-genome sequencing of the plasmids will be carried out. This study will be fundamental to understanding the potential for horizontal transmission of these plasmids and will provide data for molecular epidemiological surveillance of Enterobacteriaceae.