Association of Antimicrobial Resistance and Gut Microbiota Composition in Human and Non-Human Primates at an Urban Ecotourism Site

The rise of nature-based ecotourism in the past decade continues to introduce unprecedented challenges in managing the increased interaction between humans and animals. The potential transmission of antibiotic resistant microbes between humans and non-human primate populations is a concern due to their genetic similarity. Malaysia is well known for its wildlife diversity hotspots where non-human primates like monkeys and orangutans have become popular tourist attractions for local and international tourists. In this study, we assessed the prevalence of antimicrobial resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus species., and other Enterobacteriaceae in the faeces of human (HS) and two non-human primates (NHP), the Long-tailed macaque (Macaca fascicularis, MF) and Silvered leaf monkey (Trachypithecus cristatus, TC) in Malaysia. In addition, the faecal bacterial composition was profiled to evaluate the potential association between antibiotic resistant profiles and composition of gut microbiota.