Detection of CC17 Enterococcus faecium in dogs and a comparison with human isolates.

Enterococcus faecium strains of clonal complex (CC) 17 were isolated from domestic dogs. The strains were more prevalent in infectious isolates than in colonized isolates, suggesting that strains of the CC17 lineage may have an advantage in causing infections in dogs. The pulsed field gel electrophoresis patterns of some dog and human isolates were over 90% similar. However, antimicrobial resistance patterns and virulence factors were not identical, which might reflect different use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine or in host specificity.