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Wild capybaras as reservoir of shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli in urban Amazonian Region |
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| Authors: | Gabriela Merker Breyer Sílvia de Carli Natã Vieira Inácio Vânia Maria França Ribeiro Flavio Roberto Chaves da Silva Cíntia Daudt Franciele Maboni Siqueira |
| Affiliation: | 1. Graduate Program in Veterinary Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil;2. Graduate Program in Veterinary Science, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil Veterinary Science Faculty, Veterinary Pathology Department, Veterinary Bacteriology Laboratory, Porto Alegre, Brazil;3. Graduate Program in Health and Sustainable Animal Production in the Western Amazon, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco, Brazil Laboratory of Virology and Parasitology, Center of Biological Sciences and Nature, Rio Branco, Brazil |
| Abstract: | Capybaras are rodent widely distributed in South America, which inhabit lakeside areas including ecological parks and urban sites. Due to anthropological interaction, monitoring zoonotic pathogens in wildlife is essential for One Health. We investigated faecal samples from capybaras living in an urban area in Rio Branco (Acre, Brazil) for the presence diarrhoeagenic E. coli. Virulence factors from shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) were screened by PCR. We detected at least one virulence factor in 81% of the animals, being classified as STEC and EHEC pathotypes. The presence of zoonotic E. coli in capybaras is a warning due to the highly frequent anthropological interactions with wild animals in this area. Our findings highlight the importance of investigating wild animals as carriers of zoonotic E. coli, requiring further investigations into wildlife surveillance and epidemiological monitoring. |
| Keywords: | EHEC EPEC shiga toxin STEC wildlife zoonotic diseases |