Teng Lin, Feng Mengyao, Liao Sihao, Zheng Zhijie, Jia Chenghao, Zhou Xin, Nambiar Reshma B, Ma Zhengxin, Yue Min
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Zhejiang University College of Animal Sciences, Hangzhou, China.
Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine, USA.
Microbiol Spectr. 2023 Feb 22;11(2):e0211322. doi: 10.1128/spectrum.02113-22.
Antimicrobial resistance poses a challenge to global public health, and companion animals could serve as the reservoir for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. However, the prevalence of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, especially multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, and the associated risk factors from companion animals are partially understood. Here, we aim to investigate the prevalence of MDR Escherichia coli, as an indicator bacterium, in pet cats and dogs in Hangzhou, China, and evaluate the factors affecting the prevalence of MDR E. coli. The proportion of pets carrying MDR E. coli was 35.77% (49/137), i.e., 40.96% (34/83) for dogs and 27.28% (15/54) for cats. Isolates resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (49.40% and 44.44%), amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (42.17% and 38.89%), and nalidixic acid (40.96% and 35.19%) were the most prevalent in dogs and cats. Interestingly, comparable prevalence of MDR E. coli was observed in pet dogs and cats regardless of the health condition and the history of antibiotic use. Genetic diversity analysis indicates a total of 86 sequencing types (23 clonal complexes), with ST12 being the most dominant. Further genomic investigation of a carbapenem-resistant E. coli ST410 isolate reveals abundant antimicrobial-resistance genes and a plasmid-borne carbapenemase gene (NDM-5) flanked by insertion sequences of IS and IS, suggesting the plasmid and insertion sequences may be involved in carbapenem-resistance dissemination. These data show that companion animal-derived MDR bacteria could threaten public health, and further regulation and supervision of antimicrobial use in pet clinics should be established in China. MDR Escherichia coli are considered a global threat because of the decreasing options for antimicrobial therapy. Companion animals could be a reservoir of MDR E. coli, and the numbers of pets and households owning pets in China are booming. However, the prevalence and risk factors of MDR E. coli carriage in Chinese pets were rarely studied. Here, we investigated the prevalence of MDR E. coli in pets in Hangzhou, one of the leading cities with the most established pet market in China, and explored the factors that affected the prevalence. Our findings showed high prevalences of MDR E. coli in pet dogs and cats regardless of their health condition and the history of antibiotic use, suggesting their potential role of public health risk. A call-to-action for improved regulation of antimicrobial use in companion animal is needed in China.
抗菌药物耐药性对全球公共卫生构成挑战，伴侣动物可能成为耐抗菌药物细菌的储存宿主。然而，我们对伴侣动物中耐抗菌药物细菌，尤其是多重耐药（MDR）细菌的流行情况及其相关风险因素的了解还不全面。在此，我们旨在调查中国杭州宠物猫和狗中作为指示菌的MDR大肠杆菌的流行情况，并评估影响MDR大肠杆菌流行的因素。携带MDR大肠杆菌的宠物比例为35.77%（49/137），其中狗为40.96%（34/83），猫为27.28%（15/54）。对甲氧苄啶-磺胺甲恶唑（49.40%和44.44%）、阿莫西林-克拉维酸（42.17%和38.89%）以及萘啶酸（40.96%和35.19%）耐药的分离株在狗和猫中最为常见。有趣的是，无论健康状况和抗生素使用史如何，在宠物狗和猫中观察到的MDR大肠杆菌流行率相当。基因多样性分析表明共有86种测序类型（23个克隆复合体），其中ST12最为常见。对一株耐碳青霉烯类大肠杆菌ST410分离株的进一步基因组研究发现了丰富的抗菌耐药基因以及一个由IS和IS插入序列侧翼的质粒携带碳青霉烯酶基因（NDM-5），这表明质粒和插入序列可能参与了碳青霉烯类耐药性的传播。这些数据表明，伴侣动物来源 的MDR细菌可能威胁公共卫生，中国应进一步加强对宠物诊所抗菌药物使用的监管。由于抗菌治疗选择的减少，MDR大肠杆菌被认为是一种全球威胁。伴侣动物可能是MDR大肠杆菌的储存宿主，而且中国宠物和养宠物家庭的数量正在迅速增长。然而，很少有研究关注中国宠物中MDR大肠杆菌携带的流行情况和风险因素。在此，我们调查了中国宠物市场最发达的主要城市之一杭州宠物中MDR大肠杆菌的流行情况，并探讨了影响其流行的因素。我们的研究结果表明，无论健康状况和抗生素使用史如何，宠物狗和猫中MDR大肠杆菌的流行率都很高，这表明它们对公共卫生存在潜在风险。中国需要呼吁加强对伴侣动物抗菌药物使用的监管。
