Insects, Rodents, and Pets as Reservoirs, Vectors, and Sentinels of Antimicrobial Resistance

Gwenzi, Willis and Chaukura, Nhamo and Muisa-Zikali, Norah and Teta, Charles and Musvuugwa, Tendai and Rzymski, Piotr and Abia, Akebe Luther King (2021) Insects, Rodents, and Pets as Reservoirs, Vectors, and Sentinels of Antimicrobial Resistance. Antibiotics, 10 (1). p. 68. ISSN 2079-6382

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Abstract

This paper reviews the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in insects, rodents, and pets. Insects (e.g., houseflies, cockroaches), rodents (rats, mice), and pets (dogs, cats) act as reservoirs of AMR for first-line and last-resort antimicrobial agents. AMR proliferates in insects, rodents, and pets, and their skin and gut systems. Subsequently, insects, rodents, and pets act as vectors that disseminate AMR to humans via direct contact, human food contamination, and horizontal gene transfer. Thus, insects, rodents, and pets might act as sentinels or bioindicators of AMR. Human health risks are discussed, including those unique to low-income countries. Current evidence on human health risks is largely inferential and based on qualitative data, but comprehensive statistics based on quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) are still lacking. Hence, tracing human health risks of AMR to insects, rodents, and pets, remains a challenge. To safeguard human health, mitigation measures are proposed, based on the one-health approach. Future research should include human health risk analysis using QMRA, and the application of in-silico techniques, genomics, network analysis, and ’big data’ analytical tools to understand the role of household insects, rodents, and pets in the persistence, circulation, and health risks of AMR.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: antimicrobial-resistant microorganisms; antimicrobial resistance genes; companion animals; human exposure pathways; human health risks; quantitative microbial risk assessment
Subjects: STM Repository > Biological Science
Depositing User: Managing Editor
Date Deposited: 22 Oct 2024 04:25
Last Modified: 22 Oct 2024 04:25
URI: http://classical.goforpromo.com/id/eprint/1176

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