Occurrence and assessment of antibiotic resistance and virulence of Enterococcus spp. strains isolated from fecal samples of wild animals

This study aimed to identify and assess antibiotic resistance and virulence genes of Enterococcus strains from fecal samples of wild animals. 118 strains were collected from various animals, including deer, wild boar, hare, roe deer, fallow deer, raccoon dog, fox, moose, polecat, rabbit, wolf, and marten. Antibiotic resistance assessments were performed using the disk diffusion method, and PCR was used to detect virulence genes. The study revealed a high species diversity of Enterococcus spp., with 70 strains resistant to at least one antibiotic. Multidrug resistant (MDR) strains were detected, but extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and pandrug-resistant (PDR) strains were not observed.