Molecular ecology of highest priority critically important antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli from mammals housed at an urban zoo.

Objectives: Zoos are environments where species of highly valued animals are kept largely separated from others and the wider world. We report the molecular ecology of critically important antibiotic resistant (ABR) Escherichia coli carried by 28 mammalian species housed in a zoo located in an urban residential district.

Methods: Over 3 months we collected 167 faecal samples from captive mammals and processed for E.