Factores de virulencia de cepas de <i>Enterococcus</i> aisladas de aves silvestres y de corral en la Patagonia

Abstract

In this study, the frequency and distribution of vancomycin resistance and virulence factors in Enterococcus strains isolated from faecal samples of wild birds and poultry were analysed. A total of 128 enterococci isolates were recovered using selective culture media from 250 faecal samples. Within the strains that displayed at least one of the studied virulence factors, Enterococcus faecalis was the most prevalent detected species (30 isolates), followed by E. faecium (23 isolates), E. durans/hirae (3 isolates) and E. avium (1 isolate). Screening of virulence factors resulted in 16 β-hemolytic strains, while 47 strains exhibited gelatinase activity. Vancomycin resistance was detected in 17 strains using standard method for clinical samples. However, the presence of vanA, vanB and vanC genes could not be confirmed by PCR techniques. The data shown suggest that wild birds and poultry have the potential to disseminate in the environment Enterococcus strains that harbour virulent traits, which in turn might be transferred either to other animals or to humans.