| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Imported animals, especially those from developing countries, may constitute a potential hazard to native animals and to public health. In this study, a new flock of lesser flamingos imported from Tanzania to Hiroshima Zoological Park were screened for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, integrons and antimicrobial resistance genes. Thirty-seven Gram-negative bacterial isolates were obtained from the flamingos. Seven isolates (18.9%) showed multidrug resistance phenotypes, the most common being against: ampicillin, streptomycin, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and nalidixic acid. Molecular analyses identified class 1 and class 2 integrons, β-lactamase-encoding genes, <it>bla</it><sub>TEM-1 </sub>and <it>bla</it><sub>CTX-M-2 </sub>and the plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance genes, <it>qnrS </it>and <it>qnrB</it>. This study highlights the role of animal importation in the dissemination of multidrug-resistant bacteria, integrons and antimicrobial resistance genes from one country to another.</p>
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