A primary challenge to managing emerging infectious disease is identifying pathways that allow
pathogen transmission at the human–wildlife interface. Using Escherichia coli as a model organism, we evaluated
fecal bacterial transmission between banded mongoose (Mungos mungo) and humans in northern
Botswana. Fecal samples were collected from banded mongoose living in protected areas (n = 87, 3 troops) and
surrounding villages (n = 92, 3 troops). Human fecal waste was collected from the same environment (n = 46).
Isolates were evaluated for susceptibility to 10 antibiotics. Resistant E. coli isolates from mongoose were
compared to human isolates using rep-PCR fingerprinting and MLST-PCR. Antimicrobial resistant isolates
were identified in 57 % of the mongoose fecal samples tested (range 31–78% among troops). At least one
individual mongoose fecal sample demonstrated resistance to each tested antibiotic, and multidrug resistance
was highest in the protected areas (40.9%). E. coli isolated from mongoose and human sources in this study
demonstrated an extremely high degree of genetic similarity on rep-PCR (AMOVA, FST = 0.0027, p = 0.18)
with a similar pattern identified on MLST-PCR. Human waste may be an important source of microbial
exposure to wildlife. Evidence of high levels of antimicrobial resistance even within protected areas identifies an
emerging health threat and highlights the need for improved waste management in these systems.