بررسي ميزان آلودگي رت هاي وحشي شهر تهران با باكتري هاي انتروباكترياسه مقاوم به آنتي بيوتيك در سال 1388

Investigation of Contamination of Wild Rats (Rattus rattus) from Tehran City to Antibiotic Resistant Enterobacteriaceae in 2009

Background and purpose: Wild rats are considered as an important spreading factor of contamination in urban areas. During recent years, the wild rats were extensively distributed in Tehran. Therefore, it is important to investigate the antibiotic resistance of enteric bacteria isolated from rats, because of the possibility of antibiotic resistance transmission to human. The aim of this study was to investigate the antibiotic resistance rate of Enterobacteriaceae among wild rats living in densely populated areas of Tehran city. Materials and methods: Forty wild rats were trapped in the North, South, East, West and Central areas of Tehran and transferred to the laboratory alive. Cecum was obtained and its contents were cultured aseptically. Antibiotic susceptibility of isolated was determined by disk diffusion method. Results: Escherichia coli (10 isolates), Salmonella typhimurium (7 isolates), Shigella sonnei (1 isolate), Proteus mirabilis (3 isolates), Citrobacter freundii (17 isolates), and Enterobacter (4 isolates) were isolated from rats. Antibiotic resistance was very high in all isolated species of Enterobacteriaceae. Conclusion: The results showed that the rats from the study areas of Tehran city harbored antibiotic resistant pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella and Shigella in their cecal contents. These organisms may be important reservoirs for transmission of drug-resistant bacteria to human. Therefore, it is very important to control the rat populations and to improve sewage management systems.