ECOEPIDEMIOLOGY OF URBAN SUPERBACTERIA: SMALL ANIMALS AS ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56238/ERR01v10n7-036Keywords:
Anthropization, Bioindicators, One Health, Bacterial Resistance, Environmental SurveillanceAbstract
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become one of the main global challenges for public health, especially due to its increasing spread in urban environments. Considering that small synanthropic animals interact closely with human waste and highly anthropized areas, it has become important to understand their role in the environmental circulation of multidrug-resistant microorganisms. The objective was, therefore, to analyze the ecoepidemiology of AMR in small urban animals, evaluating their potential as environmental indicators of the presence and dispersion of superbugs. To this end, a narrative review with elements of integrative review was conducted, based on studies published between 2000 and 2025, selected from international scientific databases and analyzed thematically and critically. Thus, it was observed that peridomestic rodents, marsupials, and synanthropic birds have a high prevalence of resistant enterobacteria and staphylococci, whose occurrence is directly influenced by the level of anthropization and environmental quality. The findings also revealed methodological gaps, such as a lack of standardization and a scarcity of longitudinal studies, which limited broader comparisons. This led to the conclusion that small urban animals are promising sentinels for AMR, but their effective use in monitoring programs depends on methodological advances and integration into the scope of the One Health approach.
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References
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