2026-04-17T23:21:56Zhttps://recercat.cat/oai/requestoai:recercat.cat:20.500.12327/15362025-10-22T11:22:36Zcom_2072_4428com_2072_4427col_2072_487898
RECERCAT
author
Garcias, Biel
author
Aguirre, Laia
author
Seminati, Chiara
author
Reyes, Nerea
author
Allepuz, Alberto
author
Obón, Elena
author
Molina-Lopez, Rafael A.
author
Darwich, Laila
other
Producció Animal
group
Sanitat Animal
2025-10-22T11:22:36Z
2025-10-22T11:22:36Z
2021-09-28
Garcias, Biel; Aguirre, Laia;Seminati, Chiara; Reyes, Nerea; Allepuz, Alberto;Obón, Elena; Molina-Lopez, Rafael A.;Darwich, Laila. Extended-Spectrum β-Lactam Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli in Wild European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europeus) Living in Populated Areas. Animals 2021, 11, 2837. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102837
2076-2615
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12327/1536
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102837
Wildlife has been suggested to be a good sentinel of environmental health because of
its close interaction with human populations, domestic animals, and natural ecosystems. The
alarming emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in human and veterinary medicine has
activated/triggered the awareness of monitoring the levels of AMR pollution in wildlife. European
hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are common wild species habiting urban areas in Europe. However,
there are few studies conducted in hedgehogs as reservoirs of AMR bacteria or genes. The aim of
this study was to assess the occurrence and distribution of ESBL, AmpC, and carbapenem-resistant
enterobacteria and AMR genes in wild European hedgehogs in Catalonia, a densely populated
region of NE Spain. A total of 115 hedgehogs admitted at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of
Torreferrussa were studied. To our knowledge, this is the first description of β-lactam resistant
enterobacteria in wild hedgehogs. Interestingly, 36.8% (42/114) of the animals were detected as
carriers of β-lactamase/carbapenemase resistance genes. Klebsiella spp. (59.6%), and specifically
K. pneumoniae (84.6%), were the bacteria with the highest proportion of resistance genes, followed by
E. coli (34.6%) and C. freundii (5.8%). The most frequently detected genetic variants were blaCTX-M-15
(19.3%), blaSHV-28 (10.5%), blaCMY-1 (9.7%), blaCMY-2 (8.8%), and blaOXA-48 (1.7%). In addition,
52% (27/52) of the isolates presented a multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype and 31% had an
extended drug resistance (XDR) profile. No clustering of animals with AMR genes within the study
region was shown in the spatial analysis, nor differences in the proportion of positive animals among
Animals 2021, 11, 2837. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102837 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals
Animals 2021, 11, 2837 2 of 13
regions, were detected. The results of this study suggest that wild European hedgehogs could be
good sentinels of AMR environmental pollution, especially in areas with a high human population
density, because they either inhabit and/or feed in an anthropogenic environment. In conclusion, it
is crucial to raise awareness of the strong interconnection between habitats and compartments, and
therefore this implies that AMR issues must be tackled under the One Health approach
eng
Attribution 4.0 International
Extended-Spectrum β-Lactam Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli in Wild European Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europeus) Living in Populated Areas
info:eu-repo/semantics/article