Profili di resistenza agli antibiotici ed individuazione di integroni di classe 1 e 2 in Escherichia coli isolati da lagomorfi. Osservazioni preliminari

Antibiotic resistence profiles and individuation of class 1 and 2 integrons in Escherichia coli isolates from lagomorph. Preliminari observation. In 118 E.coli isolates from commercial meat rabbits affected by enteropathy (25 isolates), wild rabbits (40 isolates), and hares (53 isolates), antibiotic resistance profiles and class 1 and 2 integrons have been investigated. 64% of isolates from meat rabbits, 40% from wild rabbits and 7,5% from hares showed multidrug resistance to more than 9 antibiotics. In 23% isolates, only class 1 integrons have been detected with a prevalence higher in meat rabbits (52% positive isolates), followed by wild rabbits (25%) and hares (7.5%). The presence of integrons in isolates from commercial meat rabbits could be due to the selective pressure produced by the large use of antibiotics during their husbandry, favouring the emergence of resistant microbial populations. In wild rabbits, antibiotic resistant isolates could be resulted from contacts with zootechnical manure dispersed on crops, whereas those from hares could have an environmental origin. Class 1 integrons have not ever been described in wild lagomorphs.