Antimicrobial susceptibility profile and virulence genes of Escherichia coli strains from Alouatta pigra at the Lacandon jungle-Chiapas-Mexico

Alouatta pigra is one of the three non-human primates that inhabit Mexico, whose role in tropical forests is as seed dispersers, playing an essential role in the regeneration of forests and jungles, which impacts the conservation of natural environments.
In Mexico, this species is considered an endangered species (SEMARNAT, 2010) as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The purpose of this work was to isolate Escherichia coli from the feces of A. pigra and determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profile and virulence genes in the southern region of the Lacandon jungle, Chiapas, Mexico. The feces collection sites were two: the first is the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (conserved area) and the second was Marqués de Comillas, an area of ​​the jungle where there is disturbance, presence of human, livestock and ecotourism activities.
Although no significant differences were observed, E. coli exhibited the highest proportion of resistance against ampicillin and cefotaxime from the conserved zone (23.1% for each). In addition, the multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype was higher in E. coli isolated from the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (15.4%), compared to those from Marqués de Comillas (7.1%).
No virulence genes were found in the E. coli strains isolated from A. pigra feces inhabiting Marqués de Comillas or the Montes Azules Reserve, Chiapas.