Third-Generation Cephalosporin-Resistant Enterobacterales and Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Pigs in Rwanda

This pilot study investigated the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GC-R) Enterobacterales in conventionally kept domestic pigs and their environment across four districts in Rwanda. A total of 114 swabs (nasal, rectal, manure, dust) from 29 farms were collected and processed to isolate resistant bacteria. Thirty-two 3GC-R Enterobacterales were detected. Escherichia coli predominantly harboring blaCTX-M group 1 beta-lactamase genes, alongside Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, all displaying extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) phenotypes. Four MRSA isolates, all belonging to clonal complex 398 and SCCmec type IV, the typical livestock MRSA, were recovered from nasal and environmental samples. Multidrug resistance was frequently observed. The co-occurrence of beta-lactamase genes, non-beta-lactam resistance genes, and virulence factors such as fimH and loci associated with extraintestinal pathogenic and enteropathogenic E. coli. The detection of both MRSA and 3GC-R Enterobacterales in the present study indicates pigs and their farm environments as reservoirs of WHO priority pathogens in Rwanda, highlighting a potential public health risk in the context of extensive human-animal-environment interaction. These findings emphasize the urgent need for integrated One Health surveillance and comprehensive AMR control strategies addressing both animal and environmental reservoirs to support Rwanda's National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance.

University of Donja Gorica
InfectoGnostics Research Campus Jena
New Vision Veterinary Hospital
University of Rwanda
Medizinische Universität Innsbruck
Österreichische Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit GmbH
Western University of Health Sciences
Leibniz Institut fur Photonische Technologien
Freie Universität Berlin
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena