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Background: We investigate here the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria isolated from stool samples of yellow-legged gulls and chickens (n = 136) in urban parks and beaches of Marseille, France. Bacterial isolation was performed on selective media, including MacConkey agar with ceftriaxone and LBJMR medium. Antibiotic resistance genes, including extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBL) (i.e. bla CTX-M , bla TEM and bla SHV ), carbapenemases (bla KPC , bla VIM , bla NDM , bla OXA-23 , bla OXA-24 , bla OXA-48 and bla OXA-58 ) and colistin resistance genes (mcr-1 to mcr-5) were screened by real-time PCR and standard PCR and sequenced when found., Results: Of the 136 stools samples collected, seven ESBL-producing Gram-negative bacteria (BGN) and 12 colistin-resistant Enterobacteriaceae were isolated. Among them, five ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and eight colistin-resistant Hafnia alvei strains were identified. Four bla TEM-1 genes were detected in yellow-legged gulls and chickens. Three CTX-M-15 genes were detected in yellow-legged gulls and pigeons, and one CTX-M-1 in a yellow-legged gull. No mcr-1 to mcr-5 gene were detected in colistin-resistant isolates. Genotyping of E. coli strains revealed four different sequence types already described in humans and animals and one new sequence type., Conclusions: Urban birds, which are believed to have no contact with antibiotics appear as potential source of ESBL genes. Our findings highlight the important role of urban birds in the proliferation of multidrug-resistant bacteria and also the possible zoonotic transmission of such bacteria from wild birds to humans.

The genetic structures involved in the dissemination of blaCMY-2 carried by Proteus mirabilis isolates recovered from different gull species in the South of France were characterized and compared to clinical isolates. blaCMY-2 was identified in P. mirabilis isolates from 27/93 yellow-legged gulls and from 37/65 slender-billed gulls. It was carried by a conjugative SXT/R391-like integrative and conjugative element (ICE) in all avian strains and in 3/7 human strains. Two clinical isolates had the same genetic background as six avian isolates., (Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)

We describe here a non-O1/non-O139 Vibrio cholerae isolate producing both VIM-1 and VIM-4 carbapenemases. It was isolated from a yellow-legged gull in southern France. The blaVIM genes were part of a class 1 integron structure located in an IncA/C plasmid. This study emphasizes the presence of carbapenemase genes in wildlife microbiota., (Copyright © 2015, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.)