Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Veterinary Centre for Resistance Research, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 26;19(8):e0309554. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0309554. eCollection 2024.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a worldwide challenge, threatening global health. The objective of this research was to determine the 3rd generation cephalosporin resistance (3GCR) proportion in Escherichia (E.) coli isolated from clinical samples of dogs and cats in Germany.
The study utilized result data from antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) of isolates obtained from diagnostic samples collected from dogs and cats send in for bacterial examination. Data includes AST results from 3,491 veterinary practices in Germany spanning the years 2019 to 2021, representing 33.1% of practices and clinics nationwide. Out of 175,171 clinical samples, a total of 25,491 E. coli strains (14,6%) were evaluated for their susceptibility to antimicrobials, in particular the 3rd generation cephalosporin cefovecin, but also aminoglycosides (gentamicin, GEN), fluoroquinolones (enrofloxacin, ENR), tetracyclines (doxycycline), phenicols (chloramphenicol), folate pathway inhibitors (sulfamethoxazole + trimethoprim), and nitrofurans (nitrofurantoin).
The cefovecin resistance proportion was 11.6% in the study period. Geographical analysis showed local variations in 3GCR in E. coli of ±3%. Regarding all E. coli isolates investigated, resistance proportions were observed as follows: 12% for sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, 7% for enrofloxacin, 8% for chloramphenicol and 4% for gentamicin. Notably, 3GCR E. coli showed significantly higher resistance proportions, specifically 30% for sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim, 28% for chloramphenicol, 18% for enrofloxacin and 14% for gentamicin.
This study represents the first of its kind to utilize an extensive dataset encompassing dogs and cats across Germany. Companion animals have close contact to their owners and transmission of 3GCR between them is likely as well as acquisition from other environmental sources. Resistance proportions (6.7%) against the antibiotic ceftazidime as reported by the German AMR surveillance for human medicine were lower than in our veterinary data. Our study provides an overview of the current 3GCR resistance proportion in Germany and demonstrates the importance of integrated AMR monitoring.
抗菌药物耐药性（AMR）对全球健康构成了威胁，是一个全球性挑战。本研究的目的是确定德国犬猫临床样本中分离的大肠埃希菌（E. coli）对第三代头孢菌素（3GCR）的耐药比例。
本研究利用了从 2019 年至 2021 年德国兽医诊所送检的诊断样本中分离出的细菌进行抗菌药物敏感性检测（AST）的结果数据。数据包括德国 3491 家兽医诊所的 AST 结果，占全国诊所的 33.1%。在 175171 份临床样本中，共评估了 25491 株大肠埃希菌（14.6%）对包括第三代头孢菌素头孢噻肟在内的多种抗菌药物的敏感性，还评估了氨基糖苷类（庆大霉素，GEN）、氟喹诺酮类（恩诺沙星，ENR）、四环素类（多西环素）、酚类（氯霉素）、叶酸途径抑制剂（磺胺甲噁唑+甲氧苄啶）和硝基呋喃类（呋喃妥因）的敏感性。
在研究期间，头孢噻肟的耐药比例为 11.6%。地理分析显示，大肠埃希菌 3GCR 的局部差异为±3%。在所研究的所有大肠埃希菌分离株中，耐药比例如下：磺胺甲噁唑-甲氧苄啶 12%、恩诺沙星 7%、氯霉素 8%、庆大霉素 4%。值得注意的是，3GCR 大肠埃希菌对磺胺甲噁唑-甲氧苄啶、氯霉素、恩诺沙星和庆大霉素的耐药比例显著更高，分别为 30%、28%、18%和 14%。
本研究首次利用德国涵盖犬猫的大量数据集，这在同类研究中尚属首次。伴侣动物与主人密切接触，它们之间以及从其他环境来源获得 3GCR 的传播都很可能发生。德国抗菌药物耐药性监测报告的人类医学中抗生素头孢他啶的耐药比例（6.7%）低于我们的兽医数据。本研究提供了德国当前 3GCR 耐药比例的概述，并展示了综合抗菌药物耐药性监测的重要性。
