One Health Monitoring of Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Aquatic, Poultry, and Human Sources: Virulence Traits and blaSHV Gene Tracking

<i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> is an opportunistic pathogen of public health concern. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of <i>P. aeruginosa</i>, some virulence factors, and antimicrobial resistance patterns and highlight the potential pathways of horizontal <i>bla</i>_SHV-resistant gene transfer from diverse sources. A total of 220 samples were collected from fish (n = 90), water (n = 30), poultry (n = 50), and humans (n = 50). All samples were isolated, confirmed by the Vitek 2 system, and tested against antimicrobial agents. Some virulence and resistance genes were examined by PCR and sequenced for the <i>bla</i>_SHV-resistant gene from four selected isolates from each source. SPSS v26, with chi-squared tests and Pearson correlations (<i>p</i> < 0.05), was implemented for statistical investigation. <i>P. aeruginosa</i> was isolated at 33.3%, 20%, 14%, and 24% from fish, water, poultry, and humans, respectively. Using the diffusion disk method, extensively drug-resistant (XDR) and multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains were detected. All strains harbored the <i>opr</i>L and <i>tox</i>A genes, while the <i>las</i>B gene was present in 40% of fish samples but not present in human samples. All strains lacked the <i>exo</i>S gene. The <i>tet</i>A, <i>sul</i>1, <i>bla</i>_SHV, and <i>bla</i>_TEM resistance genes were detected at different percentages. The <i>bla</i>_SHV genes from fish and water isolates were closely related to each other and showed similarity to those of the human isolates. The poultry isolates formed a separate phylogenetic lineage. The emergence of XDR and MDR <i>P. aeruginosa</i> highlights a possible public health threat. Based on the gene similarity between fish and water isolates, our results suggest that these isolates have a common origin. The similarity between the human isolates and environmental isolates (fish and water) raises concerns about possible transmission to humans.