Addressing Challenges in Wildlife Rehabilitation: Antimicrobial-Resistant Bacteria from Wounds and Fractures in Wild Birds

Abstract

Wildlife rescue centers frequently admit animals with injuries and bone fractures. Open fractures are common in birds due to their anatomy, and this can lead to complications like osteomyelitis, which implies a serious bone infection and often necrosis, or death of the affected bone tissue. Antibiotic therapy is crucial, but the rise in antimicrobial-resistant isolates in wildlife raises concerns about treatment efficacy. A study focused on isolating, identifying, and assessing antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from wounds and fractures in wild birds. Among 36 isolates, Staphylococcus spp. dominated (63.8%), with 82.6% exhibiting antimicrobial resistance, particularly to clindamycin, an antimicrobial key in the treatment of infected bone fractures. This escalating resistance poses a dual threat to wildlife—therapeutic failure and the spread of resistant bacteria in ecosystems.