Multiple and High-Risk Clones of Extended-Spectrum Cephalosporin-Resistant and -Harbouring Uropathogenic from Cats and Dogs in Thailand.

Resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESC) and carbapenems in (), increasingly identified in small animals, indicates a crisis of an antimicrobial resistance situation in veterinary medicine and public health. This study aimed to characterise the genetic features of ESC-resistant isolated from cats and dogs with urinary tract infections in Thailand. Of 72 ESC-resistant isolated from diagnostic samples (2016-2018), including group 1 (CTX-M-55, -15 and -173) and group 9 (CTX-M-14, -27, -65 and -90) variants were detected in 47 isolates (65.28%) using PCR and DNA sequencing. Additional antimicrobial resistance genes, including plasmid-mediated AmpC (CIT and DHA), , , (A) and , were detected in these isolates. Using a broth microdilution assay, all the strains exhibited multidrug-resistant phenotypes. The phylogroups were F (36.11%), A (20.83%), B1 (19.44%), B2 (19.44%) and D (4.17%), with several virulence genes, plasmid replicons and an integrase gene. The DNA fingerprinting using a repetitive extragenic palindromic sequence-PCR presented clonal relationships within phylogroups. Multiple human-associated, high-risk ExPEC clones associated with multidrug resistance, including sequence type (ST) 38, ST131, ST224, ST167, ST354, ST410, ST617 and ST648, were identified, suggesting clonal dissemination. Dogs and cats are a potential reservoir of ESC-resistant and significant antimicrobial resistance genes.