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Detection and characterization of Enterobacteriaceae family members carried by commensal Rattus norvegicus from Tehran, Iran

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Abstract

Wild rats are known to carry different microorganisms and are considered a reservoir of zoonotic pathogens worldwide. The urban rats were collected from five districts of Tehran and Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) were isolated from fecal samples and were identified using classical biochemical tests. The antibiotic susceptibility patterns of isolated bacteria were determined by Kirby–Bauer disk diffusion method, the results of which were interpreted in line with CLSI guideline. The frequency of antibiotic-resistant genes was identified using multiplex-PCR. Moreover, PCR method was used to identify the frequency of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and main categories of diarrheagenic E. coli including EPEC, ETEC, EIEC, EAEC, and STEC pathotypes. A total of 100 Rattus norvegicus were trapped and fecal samples were collected. Overall, 72 fecal samples were positive for GNB. E. coli (n = 46/72) had the highest frequency among the isolated GNB. Among E. coli isolates, the highest and lowest resistance rates belonged to ampicillin (56.5%) and ceftriaxone (0%), respectively. Klebsiella spp. was 100% resistant to imipenem, and streptomycin (0%) was the most effective antimicrobial agent on Klebsiella spp. Among surveyed genes, blaTEM (95.8%) and blaaadA-1 (58.3%) had the highest frequency, while blaKPC, and blaCMY-2 were not detected among Enterobacteriaceae. Herein, O157: H7 serotype was not detected and aEPEC (87%) was the most common pathotype detected. Results suggested that rodents might be a reservoir of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens and rodent control along with implementation of surveillance programs should be considered as a critical priority for urban health.

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All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article.

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Acknowledgements

This article was extracted from the Ph.D. thesis written by Mr. Taher Azimi in Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Registration No. 240/316). This study was supported by research committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (Grant No. 42072).

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, and Biotechnology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Poursina St., Tehran, Iran

    Taher Azimi & Mohammad Reza Pourmand

  2. Pediatric Infection Research Center, Research Institute for Children’s Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Leila Azimi

  3. Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Fallah

  4. Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh

  5. Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Reza Abai

  6. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Abbas Rahimi Foroushani

Authors
  1. Taher Azimi
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  2. Leila Azimi
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  3. Fatemeh Fallah
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  4. Mohammad Reza Pourmand
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  5. Abbas Ostadtaghizadeh
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  6. Mohammad Reza Abai
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  7. Abbas Rahimi Foroushani
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Contributions

TA, MRP, and MRA: conceptualization; data curation; formal analysis; and writing—original draft. TA, FF, LA, and MRP: conceptualization; methodology; project administration; and writing—original draft. AO, MRA, and ARF: data curation; formal analysis; writing—original draft; and writing—review and editing. TA and LA: language editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mohammad Reza Pourmand.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The present study was approved by the Ethics Committee of School of Public Health and Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, with reference number IR.TUMS.SPH.REC.1398.035. All authors of this research paper have directly participated in the planning, execution, or analysis of this study.

Consent for publication

All authors made substantial contributions to the conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data. They played an active role in drafting the article or revising it critically to achieve important intellectual content, gave the final approval of the version to be published, and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Additional information

Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

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Azimi, T., Azimi, L., Fallah, F. et al. Detection and characterization of Enterobacteriaceae family members carried by commensal Rattus norvegicus from Tehran, Iran. Arch Microbiol 203, 1321–1334 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-020-02126-0

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