SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1615826
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrating Health: a One Health Approach to Antimicrobial Resistance and Sustainable PracticesView all 6 articles
Wild birds as potential reservoirs of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli: a systematic review
Provisionally accepted
Catherine Wangui Mbuthia1,2*
Abubakar Shaaban Hoza1- 1College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
- 2Southern African Center for Infectious Disease Surveillance, Morogoro, Morogoro, Tanzania
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This systematic review examines the role of migratory and resident wild birds as potential reservoirs in the transmission of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) E. coli. Drawing on studies from diverse ecological and geographical settings, from polluted agricultural landscapes to pristine natural environments, in low, middle, and high-income countries, explores transboundary and inter-species AMR spread and the impact of socio-economic, political, and environmental factors on global AMR patterns. Focusing on proportions of phenotypic and genotypic data related to E. coli resistant to the WHO's critically important antimicrobials (CIAs) for human medicine, the review highlights genetic overlaps between AMR found in wild birds and other One Health sectors. By drawing these connections, the manuscript underscores the urgent need to enhance AMR surveillance in wild birds, strengthen reporting mechanisms, and adopt more robust environmental management strategies within the One Health framework. The findings are expected to contribute meaningfully to the literature on antimicrobials, resistance, and chemotherapy and inform multidisciplinary efforts to curb the global spread of AMR.
Keywords: antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy Conceptualization, supervision, Validation, Writing review & editing Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, investigation
Received: 22 Apr 2025; Accepted: 10 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Mbuthia and Hoza. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Catherine Wangui Mbuthia, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
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