Assessment of antibiotic resistance profiles of Escherichia Coli in mountain gorillas and baboons in Buhoma ,Bwindi Impenetrable National Park.

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is an increasingly pressing global health crisis with very significant implications for human, animal, and environmental health. This research study investigated the prevalence and patterns of antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli (E. coli) in mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei beringei) and baboons (Papio spp.) within Buhoma sector of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP), Uganda. This study aimed to isolate E. coli, identify specific antibiotic resistant profiles and explore potential drivers of antibiotic resistance in the Non-Human Primates (NHPs), including proximity to human settlements, agricultural activities, and tourism. A cross-sectional study design was employed and this involved the non-invasive collection of fecal samples from selected gorilla families and a single baboon troop (43 samples from mountain gorillas and 13 from baboons). E. coli was successfully isolated from 90.7% (39/43) of gorilla and 76.9% (10/13) of baboon fecal samples, and antibiotic susceptibility testing was done against eight antibiotics using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion. Our results showed that 91.8% (45/49) of all E. coli isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. High resistance rates were recorded for gentamicin in both mountain gorillas (92.3%) and baboons (90.0%), and for ciprofloxacin in mountain gorillas (43.6%) and baboons (60.0%). The detection of Imipenem resistance at 2.6% in mountain gorillas and 10.0% in baboons is of exceptional concern, given that Carbapenems are regarded as last-resort antibiotics. Multidrug resistance (resistance to 2 or more antibiotic classes) was also observed in 53.9% of gorilla isolates and 80.0% of baboon isolates. Fisher’s exact test revealed no statistical significant difference (P = 0.711) in resistance patterns between gorilla families with high tourist interaction (group A) versus gorilla families with low tourist interactions (group B), suggesting that tourist exposure may not be a major driver of resistance in this context. The findings of this study confirm the widespread presence of antibiotic resistant E. coli in wildlife populations in Buhoma, highlighting the urgent need for targeted surveillance and One Health interventions to mitigate this escalating invisible threat. Key words: Antibiotic resistance, Escherichia coli, mountain gorillas, baboons, Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, multidrug resistance, One Health.