Publication Database

Zoonotic and multidrug-resistant bacteria in companion animals challenge infection medicine and biosecurity (2022)

Art

Buchbeitrag

Autoren

Walther, Birgit

Schaufler, Katharina

Wieler, Lothar H. (WE 7)

Lübke-Becker, Antina (WE 7)

Quelle

Zoonoses: infections affecting humans and animals — Andreas Sing (Hrsg.)

Cham: Springer, 2022 — S. 1–21

ISBN: 978-3-030-85877-3

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-85877-3_17-1

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-85877-3_17-1

Kontakt

Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 51843 / 66949
mikrobiologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

At present, various zoonotic and multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, including but not limited to Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, are well-equipped to survive and conquer new habitats, environments, and host species. These bacteria carry the ability to cross host species barriers through host-range broadening virulence factors and antimicrobial resistances, combined with mechanisms allowing them to spread and prosper, not only in clinical environments but also beyond their natural surroundings. This phenomenon can colloquially be summarized as an “enlarging the cake” strategy, meaning that from a long-term evolutionary perspective, generalist variants of bacterial species diverge into distinct habitats on their way to a specialized existence within a niche. While knowledge on the pathomechanisms behind bacterial diseases and infection sources are readily available, trans-sectoral research on the transmission of MDR bacteria across humans, animals, and the environment, although considered to be a prime example of the One Heath concept, lies still in its infancy, especially with respect to the role of companion animals. In addition, challenges such as the mobilization of novel antimicrobial resistance genes from the global resistome as well as incalculable external influences on this matter arising from both climate and landscape changes are predicted to arise in the near future. However, new opportunities to combat MDR bacteria in human and veterinary medicine lie within research conducted across the One Health framework: Novel technologies powered by bioinformatics that permit bacterial identification, typing, and source attribution on a nearly unlimited scale, allowing to unravel the natural forces driving bacterial evolution and enabling the development of suitable intervention strategies.