Ecology of pet birds and epidemiology of multidrug resistant Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp. and resistant patterns in Budgerigar

Abstract

Pet birds are most popular as pets in Bangladesh, with budgerigars being the most common species. However, the emergence of antimicrobial resistance poses a growing threat to both pet birds and their owners. This study aims to investigate the ecology of pet birds and the epidemiology of multidrug resistant (MDR) Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus spp. in pet birds. Data were collected from interviews with 49 pet bird farms using a pretested questionnaire, and cloacal swab samples were collected from 220 budgerigars between December 2016 and June 2017. Standard microbiological procedures were employed for bacterial isolation and identification. Antimicrobial susceptibility was tested using micro-disc diffusion techniques for 9 antibiotics. Budgerigar birds were found to be 24.7 % of all pet species. The prevalences of E. coli and Staphylococcus spp. were 22.3 % and 18.2 %, respectively. All the E. coli (n = 49) isolates displayed resistance to amoxicillin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and cefixime, with the lowest resistance observed against ciprofloxacin (6.1 %). For Staphylococcus spp., all the isolates (n = 40) were resistant against enrofloxacin and gentamycin, with the lowest resistance to ciprofloxacin and azithromycin (5 %). Significant factors associated with MDR included female budgerigars with poor body condition score (BCS), which was linked to a significantly higher prevalence of MDR E. coli. For MDR Staphylococcus spp., young age emerged as a significant factor (p < 0.005). To mitigate the risk of public health implications associated with multidrug resistant bacteria, there is a need to reduce the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in pet birds.