Department of Infectious Diseases and Public Health, Jockey Club College of Veterinary Medicine and Life Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
CityU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
J Vet Diagn Invest. 2024 Sep;36(5):711-718. doi: 10.1177/10406387241233546. Epub 2024 Feb 27.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat to human and animal health. Data are limited on the prevalence of resistant bacteria in pet rabbits. Therefore, we aimed to identify prevalent bacterial infections and AMR profiles among pet rabbits in Hong Kong (HK). Our search of the CityU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL) database found 301 cases of pet rabbits submitted for bacteriologic and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by veterinarians at 20 exotic veterinary clinics across HK between 2019 and 2022. The rabbits were of 8 different breeds and had a median age of 6.5 y, with 54.8% males, 40.2% females, and 5% unspecified. Of the 301 samples received, 168 (55.8%) had positive bacterial growth; 125 (74.4%) had single bacterial isolates, and 43 (25.6%) had mixed cultures. Cultures included (21.3%) as the most frequently isolated gram-positive bacterium, followed by (12.5%), and (11.3%). The most frequently isolated gram-negative bacteria were (18.1%), followed by (8.3%), (6.9%), and (4.2%). Approximately 83% of the isolates had acquired resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, and 49.4% were multidrug-resistant. The isolated bacteria had high levels of resistance to penicillin (69.8%), clindamycin (47.4%), and doxycycline (46.9%). Our findings highlight the high levels of AMR in bacteria isolated from pet rabbit clinical samples in HK; many of these bacteria are zoonotic and pose a public health threat.
抗微生物药物耐药性（AMR）对人类和动物健康构成日益严重的威胁。关于宠物兔中耐药细菌的流行率数据有限。因此，我们旨在确定香港（HK）宠物兔中流行的细菌感染和 AMR 情况。我们在城市大学兽医诊断实验室（VDL）数据库中进行搜索，发现 2019 年至 2022 年间，20 家异国情调兽医诊所的兽医向 VDL 提交了 301 例宠物兔进行细菌学和抗微生物药物敏感性测试。这些兔子有 8 个不同品种，平均年龄为 6.5 岁，雄性占 54.8%，雌性占 40.2%，5%未指定。在收到的 301 个样本中，有 168 个（55.8%）有阳性细菌生长；125 个（74.4%）有单一细菌分离株，43 个（25.6%）有混合培养物。培养物包括 （21.3%）作为最常分离的革兰氏阳性菌，其次是 （12.5%）和 （11.3%）。最常分离的革兰氏阴性菌是 （18.1%），其次是 （8.3%）、 （6.9%）和 （4.2%）。大约 83%的分离株至少对一种抗菌药物具有耐药性，49.4%为多药耐药。分离出的细菌对青霉素（69.8%）、克林霉素（47.4%）和强力霉素（46.9%）的耐药性较高。我们的研究结果强调了从香港宠物兔临床样本中分离的细菌对抗微生物药物耐药性的高水平；其中许多细菌是人畜共患病病原体，对公共卫生构成威胁。
