Oral and rectal microbiota of callitrichids (Callithrix sp.) in an anthropized area of the Atlantic forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Proximity of nonhuman primates (NHP) to humans can be considered a risk factor for transmission of pathogens between these two populations. This study investigated the oral and rectal aerobic bacterial microbiota of marmosets in an anthropized area of the Atlantic Forest located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and performed phenotypic tests for detection of multidrug-resistant bacteria. Twenty-one samples (14 from the oral cavity and seven from the rectum) were collected from 14 Callithrix sp. captured in two sites of the forest near human dwellings. The most frequent species identified from the oral cavity swabs were Klebsiella oxytoca (50.0%), K. pneumoniae (28.6%), Kluyvera ascorbata (21.4%) and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (21.4%), whereas the species most commonly identified from the rectum swabs were K. pneumoniae (85.7%), Enterobacter spp. (42.9%) and Escherichia coli (28.6%). All isolates of family Enterobacteriaceae showed no extended spectrum β-lactamase production by disk-diffusion and automated detection tests. In the search for carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae these isolates presented no resistance to the imipenem, meropenem and ertapenem antibiotics. The isolate of Staphylococcus aureus was susceptible to oxacillin and the isolate of Enterococcus was susceptible to vancomycin. All isolated bacteria showed zoonotic potential, thus posing a risk to species conservation and public health.