The rise of Antimicrobial resistance in Wild birds: Potential AMR sources and Wild birds as AMR reservoirs and disseminators Literature review

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an urgent global health problem, and the emergence of resistant strains in wildlife is of great concern. It is important to monitor its presence in the environment, identify its potential sources, and understand the possible transmission of such resistance between different strains of bacteria found in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Objectives: Our goal was to examine the literature on the occurrence, the geographical and temporal distribution of AMR in different wild birds, and the molecular characteristics of the genetic elements detected in these birds. Material and Methods: We conducted a systematic review using the advanced search engine of the Web of Science database while focusing our search on the main subject of the study. Results and Discussion: A total of 312 primary research articles were selected, with the majority published in the last decade (76.9%, since 2015). Most studies were conducted in Europe (52.4%) and focused on 42 different bird groups. We found that most studies focused on resistant bacteria that are prioritized by the World Health Organization, with 30.7% of publications exploring the genetic background of AMR dating back to 2008. We also found that the frequency of AMR in wild bird species varied depending on factors such as the bird species sampled, study location, number of samples analysed, and the specific bacterial species targeted for analysis. However, the origin of AMR was often not discussed, and very few studies manifested the potential role of wild birds in AMR dissemination. Further research should be considered to determine the exact contribution of wild birds to the environmental dissemination of AMR.