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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Microbiol.

Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1671302

This article is part of the Research TopicOne Health Approach for Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance in Diverse EcosystemsView all articles

Detection of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli carrying blaCTXM-15 in magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) from Brazil: A One Health perspective

Provisionally accepted
Bruno Rocha PribulBruno Rocha Pribul1Letícia da Silva NascimentoLetícia da Silva Nascimento1Carlos Eduardo Gaspar MarinatoCarlos Eduardo Gaspar Marinato1Melise SilveiraMelise Silveira2Daiana Cristina Silva RodriguesDaiana Cristina Silva Rodrigues1Bruna Ribeiro Sued-KaramBruna Ribeiro Sued-Karam1Daniel Miceli SerwyDaniel Miceli Serwy1Maria OgrzewalskaMaria Ogrzewalska1Marina Galvão BuenoMarina Galvão Bueno1Ana Paula D'Alincourt Carvalho-AssefAna Paula D'Alincourt Carvalho-Assef1Miliane Moreira Soares de SouzaMiliane Moreira Soares de Souza3Claudio Rocha-de-SouzaClaudio Rocha-de-Souza1*
  • 1Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • 2Laboratorio Nacional de Computacao Cientifica, Petrópolis, Brazil
  • 3Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Seropédica, Brazil

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Wild birds are increasingly recognised as sentinels for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in environments impacted by human activity, yet the role of seabirds in the dissemination and maintenance of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli in Brazil remains unclear. Here, we report the detection of a multidrug-resistant ESBL-producing E. coli carrying the blaCTXM-15 gene in a magnificent frigatebird (Fregata magnificens) from the Cagarras Islands, a coastal archipelago near Rio de Janeiro. A ceftriaxone-resistant E. coli isolate, identified as ST5614 (O27:H14), carried blaCTXM-15 on an IncB/O/K/Z plasmid closely related to those described in human isolates. Detection of blaCTXM-15 in F. magnificens may reflect the movement of clinically significant resistance genes at the human–wildlife interface, underscoring the value of seabirds as sentinels for environmental AMR surveillance.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance, ESBL-producing Escherichia coli, seabirds, blaCTXM-15, One Health

Received: 23 Jul 2025; Accepted: 08 Sep 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Pribul, Nascimento, Marinato, Silveira, Rodrigues, Sued-Karam, Serwy, Ogrzewalska, Bueno, Carvalho-Assef, de Souza and Rocha-de-Souza. 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: Claudio Rocha-de-Souza, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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