in Faeces of Migratory Geese Can Persist in Agricultural Soils: One-Health Implications for Grazing Livestock.

Abstract

The World Health Organization has classified five species ofas pathogens of critical concern on its recent 'Fungal Pathogen Priority List'.is the most common species aetiologically associated with human and animal mucosa; however, we know almost nothing about the environmental survival and the transfer pathways ofin natural environments. Here, we have isolatedfrom the faeces of newly arrived migratory geese in two agricultural fields in Scotland (the United Kingdom). All 14 confirmed isolates were characterised in terms of their pathogenicity (in alarval infection model) and resistance to four classes of antifungal drugs. Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) was used to assess the relatedness of these isolates withisolated from the faeces of sheep grazing in the same field. Finally, mesocosms were used to test whetherin geese faeces could persist and remain viable when incorporated into agricultural soils. Allisolates were virulent, and exhibited resistance to at least one of the four classes of antifungal drugs against which they were screened. Maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis of MLST sequences revealed thatisolated from goose and sheep faeces were relatively conserved, although they did cluster independently on separate clades.remained viable in common agricultural soils, and after 60 days, the concentrations of all three representativeisolates had only declined by one log. The unrestricted movement of migratory birds provides a significant opportunity for the widespread dissemination of pathogens. Althoughis not generally considered to be zoonotic, its introduction into new environments and subsequent persistence in agricultural systems has the potential to facilitate transmission between animal species or humans. Therefore, it is critical that more emphasis be put on monitoring animal migration and the potential for cross-boundary movement of pathogens, particularly with climate change widening the geographic range for pathogen persistence.