Volume 15, Issue 2: 2025 - Article 205

Abstract
There is a growing global interest in bats as reservoirs of zoonotic and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. However, the potential One Health risk associated with bats roosting in human dwellings in Anambra and Ebonyi States of Southeast Nigeria have not been documented. This study surveyed the Enterobacterales isolated from Nigerian free-tail bats (Mops nigeriae) roosting in ceilings of human dwellings in Anambra and Ebonyi States of Southeast Nigeria, and investigated their antimicrobial resistance profile and beta-lactamase and virulence-associated genes. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted for the study. Anal and oral swab samples from bats found in the ceilings of houses in six communities of Anambra and Ebonyi States were inoculated onto MacConkey agar and incubated at 37^oC for 18 – 24 hours. Purified colony of each morphologic type (50 from 80 bats) was identified with biochemical tests and confirmed by nucleotide sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Susceptibility to seven antimicrobial agents was determined using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Beta-lactamase genes (BLG) and virulence-associated genes (VAG) were detected by PCR. Results showed that the 50 bacterial isolates analyzed belonged to nine genera of Enterobacteriaceae, viz: Enterobacter spp (64.0%), Klebsiella spp and Proteus spp (10.0% each), Erwinia spp and Providencia spp (4.0% each), E. coli, Salmonella enterica, Shigella sonnei and Pantoea cedenensis (2.0% each). Resistance to cefotaxime, ceftazidime, and imipenem was exhibited by 90%, 76% and 66% of the isolates, respectively. Resistance to ciprofloxacin (66%), gentamicin (68%), chloramphenicol (20%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (18%) was also observed. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes were observed in 76% of the isolates. blaTEM (65%), blaCTX-M-15 (40%), blaTSO-O (25%), blaKPC (25%) and blaSHV (10%) were detected in the 20 isolates investigated for BLG. Hsp60 (78.8%), CsgA (24.2%), CsgD (12.1%), and FimH (3.0%) were detected in the 33 isolates screened for VAG. It was concluded that bats cohabiting human dwellings in Anambra and Ebonyi States of Nigeria are reservoirs of diverse beta-lactamase-producing MDR and potentially virulent Enterobacterales. This suggests a One Health risk, as these bacteria could spread to humans, other animals and the environment.

Keywords: Bats; Anambra and Ebonyi States; Southeast Nigeria; Enterobacterales; Antimicrobial resistance; Beta-lactamase and Virulence genes; One Health.

How to cite this article:
Ngumsina AA, Oyeleye O, Anyaoha C, Onyejekwe O, Okafor SC, Ugwu IC, Chukwudi CU, Chukwudi IC, Ogugua AJ, Chah KF and Asuzu IU (2025). Cross sectional survey of Enterobacterales isolated from ceiling-dwelling bats sampled in Anambra and Ebonyi States of Southeast Nigeria and their antimicrobial resistance and beta-lactamase and virulence-associated genes. Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences, 15(2): 1217 – 1235.

*Correspondence: E-mail:  kennedy.chah@unn.edu.ng      Phone: +2348060926059

Cross sectional survey of Enterobacterales isolated from ceiling-dwelling bats sampled in Anambra and Ebonyi States of Southeast Nigeria and their antimicrobial resistance and beta-lactamase and virulence-associated genes.
Afanwi A. Ngumsina ¹, Oluwatosin Oyeleye ², Chidiebere Anyaoha ³, Obinna Onyejekwe ⁴, Simeon C. Okafor ⁵, Ifeoma C. Ugwu ¹, Chinwe U. Chukwudi ⁵, Ijeoma C. Chukwudi ⁶, Akwoba J. Ogugua ^{3, 8}, Kennedy F. Chah ^{1, 8} * and Isaac U. Asuzu <sup>7

1</sup>Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology; ²Veterinary Teaching Hospital, ³Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine, ⁴ Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, ⁵ Department of Veterinary Pathology, ⁶Department of Veterinary Medicine, ⁷Department of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, ⁸Animal Health Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Sentinel Microbiology Laboratory, University of Nigeria Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, Nigeria.

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