Antimicrobial resistance profiles of Mammaliicoccus sciuri and Staphylococcus spp. isolated from reptiles undergoing rehabilitation in Northeastern Brazil

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in wildlife-associated bacteria represents a growing One Health concern. This study described the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of Mammaliicoccus sciuri and Staphylococcus spp. isolated from reptiles undergoing rehabilitation in northeastern Brazil. Oropharyngeal and cloacal samples from 87 reptiles yielded 87 isolates identified by MALDI-TOF MS, and antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed by disk diffusion. Five bacterial species were detected, with a predominance of M. sciuri (79/87; 90.8%). Resistance to oxacillin was the most frequent finding (40/87; 46.0%), followed by erythromycin (16/87; 18.4%), while resistance to other antimicrobials remained low. In total, 46/87 (52.9%) isolates were resistant to at least one antimicrobial and 12/87 (13.8%) were classified as multidrug-resistant, mainly from bacteria isolated from Iguana iguana, Chelonoidis carbonaria, Boa constrictor, and Tupinambis teguixin. MAR indices ranged from 0.00 to 0.86, with values > 0.20 in 25.3% of isolates. These findings indicate that rehabilitating reptiles may act as reservoirs of oxacillin-resistant staphylococci, reinforcing the need to include wildlife rehabilitation centers in AMR surveillance strategies.