ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Antimicrobials, Resistance and Chemotherapy
Wildlife as sentinel of antimicrobial resistance in Klebsiella spp. with genomic insights into Klebsiella pneumoniae in Northern Italy
Maria Sampieri 1
Lia Bardasi 1
Silvia Bonardi 2
Ilaria Menozzi 3
Alessandra Dodi 3
Erika Scaltriti 3
Giorgio Galletti 4
Elisa Massella 1
Cristina Bacci 2
Martina Rega 2
MAURO CONTER 2
1. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell’Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Italy, Bologna, Italy
2. Department of Veterinary Science, Unit of Food Safety, University of Parma, Italy, Parma, Italy
3. Risk Analysis and Genomic Epidemiology Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, Parma, Italy, Parma, Italy
4. Epidemiology Unit, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e dell'Emilia-Romagna, Bologna, Italy, Bologna, Italy
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Abstract
Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global concern, particularly worsened by the spread of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. Methods: This study investigated the presence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) and carbapenemase-producing K. pneumoniae in wild birds (corvids and waterfowl) and in red foxes in Northern Italy. Results and discussion: Although the overall prevalence of K. pneumoniae in the present study was relatively low (2.0%, 95% CI: 1.0-3.7%), its isolation from multiple wild species confirms the environmental circulation of this clinically relevant AMR bacterium in ecosystems not directly exposed to antibiotic pressure. In particular, the isolation of a carbapenemase-producing strain from a fox highlights the introduction of clinically significant carbapenemase genes into wildlife reservoirs. The phenotypic AMR profiles of K. pneumoniae isolates revealed a high prevalence of MDR strains that were largely confirmed by the genomic analysis. In-silico analyses of K. pneumoniae sequencing data led to the identification of the most frequent resistance genes and the in-silico typing reveals the prevalence of the ST307 high-risk clone. Remarkably, wildlife could be considered a significant AMR sentinel, serving as carriers of MDR K. pneumoniae in different and even distant geographic areas. These findings underscore the importance of integrating wildlife surveillance to monitor the environmental spread of AMR within a One Health approach.
Summary
Keywords
antimicrobial resistance, carbapenemases, Colistin, extended-spectrum β-lactamase, Klebsiella pneumoniae, multidrug resistance, Red fox, wildlife
Received
01 October 2025
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Sampieri, Bardasi, Bonardi, Menozzi, Dodi, Scaltriti, Galletti, Massella, Bacci, Rega and CONTER. 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: MAURO CONTER
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