Wild birds as biological indicators of environment pollution: biotyping and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Escherichia coli isolated from Audouin's gulls (Larus audouinii) living in Gallipoli bay (Italy)

E. coli biotyping and antimicrobial susceptibility tests were performed on 48 cloacal swabs collected from a population of Audouin's gulls (Larus audouini) living in the Bay of Gallipoli (Lecce, Italy). The aim was to assess the pathogenic potential of the strains the gulls carry and shed into the environment and to gain a better understanding of the microbial pollution of the area they live in. Only one E. coli strain was rhamnose - (Rh) (biotype 8). All the other strains were Rh + with a prevalence of biotypes 30 and 31. Overall, the antimicrobial susceptibility tests showed a low level of antibiotic resistance. The findings suggest that the gull population does not have a heavy impact on the microbial nature of the Bay of Gallipoli and that the area does not present a high level of microbiological pollution.