ESKAPE bacteria represent a group of opportunistic bacterial pathogens that display widespread antimicrobial resistance, including resistance to the last-line antibiotics, thereby posing a significant clinical implication globally. Anthropogenic activities, such as wastewater from hospitals, livestock farms, crop fields, and wastewater treatment plants, contribute to the dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial pathogens into the environment. Surface water sources, including river waters, act as critical points of discharge for wastewater, pollutants, antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARG). These environmental factors, along with others, facilitate the dissemination and survival of ARBs, as well as promote the exchange of ARGs. Therefore, it is crucial to comprehend the current environmental landscape concerning the prevalence and persistence of resistant bacteria, particularly those belonging to the ESKAPE group. This review aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current dissemination and characterization of ESKAPE bacteria in surface water and wastewater sources.

Sea turtles perform various ecological services in several marine environments and are considered architects of the marine landscape. At present, they are endangered species due to anthropogenic threats, pollution and degradation of marine habitats. These impacts make it urgent to increase protection and conservation efforts. Protective actions include the rescue and rehabilitation of injured individuals as a result of their interactions with humans and other threats. Environmental enrichment (EE) is a series of techniques and methods aimed to improve the welfare of animals in captivity and/or under rehabilitation. It uses external stimuli to enhance their psychological and physiological wellbeing to promote natural abilities and behaviors. These may increase the survival chances of rehabilitated animals upon release in the wild. This review presents data of studies where EE has been applied during the rehabilitation processes of different species of sea turtles, and its effect on welfare improvement during captivity/rehabilitation and on survival after release into nature. Technologies such as satellite tags are an important means to determine rehabilitation success and survival of injured individuals from endangered species after release into the wild, as they allow tracking and monitoring of such individuals, and determine their location in areas used by their natural populations for feeding or breeding.

Ranaviruses are the second deadliest pathogens for amphibian populations throughout the world. Despite their wide distribution in America, these viruses have never been reported in Mexico, the country with the fifth highest amphibian diversity in the world. This paper is the first to address an outbreak of ranavirus in captive American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) from Sinaloa, Mexico. The farm experienced high mortality in an undetermined number of juveniles and sub-adult bullfrogs. Affected animals displayed clinical signs and gross lesions such as lethargy, edema, skin ulcers, and hemorrhages consistent with ranavirus infection. The main microscopic lesions included mild renal tubular necrosis and moderate congestion in several organs. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed scant infected hepatocytes and renal tubular epithelial cells. Phylogenetic analysis of five partial ranavirus genes showed that the causative agent clustered within the Frog virus 3 clade. Risk assessment with the Pandora⁺ protocol demonstrated a high risk for the pathogen to affect amphibians from neighboring regions (overall Pandora risk score: 0.619). Given the risk of American bullfrogs escaping and spreading the disease to wild amphibians, efforts should focus on implementing effective containment strategies and surveillance programs for ranavirus at facilities undertaking intensive farming of amphibians.

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) is a major threat for farmed shrimp worldwide. RNA interference (RNAi) is the most recent tool against viral diseases. Rab7 silencing effectively inhibited virus infections in juvenile shrimp, but the antiviral effect in brooders remains unknown. This study found a homologue Penaeus monodon Rab7 gene in Litopenaeus vannamei brooders from Mexico. Sequence identity was >99% to a Thai LvRab7 sequence and >94% to Rab7 sequences from P. monodon or Marsupenaeus japonicus. Animals treated with a partial (494 bp) or a complete (618 bp) LvRab7 dsRNA sequences and challenged 48 h post treatment (hpt) with a high WSSV dose showed 80–88% mortality respectively. Shrimp treated with 4 or 20 μg LvRab7 dsRNA and challenged with a WSSV high dose had 80% mortality each, but it was reduced to 33% and 40%, respectively, with a low dose. Efficacy of dsRNA to reduce shrimp mortality was dependent on virus dose used regardless of dsRNA concentration. A significant reduction in LvRab7 mRNA levels was observed at 120 hpt. In conclusion, silencing LvRab7 in brooders showed a mild antiviral effect against a WSSV challenge at 48 hpt.

The presence of fibropapilloma and its associated chelonid herpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) was assessed in 82 wild sea turtles. Olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea (n = 58) were caught in the pelagic Area of Marine Influence (AMI) (off the coast of Guasave, Sinaloa), and black turtles Chelonia mydas agassizii (n = 24) were captured in the Navachiste Lagoon System. The apparent physical condition was evaluated as 'good' or 'poor' by physical examination. The population structure and general health status was determined by condition index, hematocrit and total plasma protein. Detection of ChHV5 from skin samples was done by PCR. The overall physical condition of black turtles was good and all the individuals were tumor-free. Likewise, the physical condition of most olive ridley turtles was good, except for 10 individuals with poor condition. Of these, 4 had fibropapilloma-like tumors. PCR analyses showed that 3 tumors were ChHV5-positive. The DNA sequence showed 96% identity with ChHV5. All other skin samples from black or olive ridley turtles were ChHV5-negative. This is the first report of fibropapillomatosis-ChHV5 in foraging grounds off northern Sinaloa. The virus was present in a small proportion of L. olivacea individuals, a free-ranging species. It is suggested that infected turtles acquired the virus at a different location somewhere during their development before arriving in the AMI zone. This finding makes the case for setting up a health monitoring program for turtle populations in the area, enforcing sanitary measures to reduce the spread of the pathogen.