| 19968729 |
Jackson CR, Fedorka-Cray PJ, Davis JA, Barrett JB, Brousse JH, Gustafson J, Kucher M: Mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and genetic relatedness among enterococci isolated from dogs and cats in the United States. J Appl Microbiol. 2009 Nov 7.
Abstract Aims: In this study, mechanisms of antimicrobial resistance and genetic relatedness among resistant enterococci from dogs and cats in the United States were determined. Methods and Results: Enterococci resistant to chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, erythromycin, gentamicin, kanamycin, streptomycin, lincomycin, quinupristin/dalfopristin and tetracycline were screened for the presence of 15 antimicrobial resistance genes. Five tetracycline resistance genes [tet (M), tet (O), tet (L), tet (S) and tet (U)] were detected with tet (M) accounting for approx. 60% (130/216) of tetracycline resistance; erm (B) was also widely distributed among 96% (43/45) of the erythromycin-resistant enterococci. Five aminoglycoside resistance genes were also detected among the kanamycin-resistant isolates with the majority of isolates (25/36; 69%) containing aph (3')-IIIa. The bifunctional aminoglycoside resistance gene, aac (6')-Ie-aph (2'')-Ia, was detected in gentamicin-resistant isolates and ant (6)-Ia in streptomycin-resistant isolates. The most common gene combination among enterococci from dogs (n = 11) was erm (B), aac (6')-Ie-aph (2'')-Ia, aph (3')-IIIa, tet (M), while tet (O), tet (L) were most common among cats (n = 18). Using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), isolates clustered according to enterococcal species, source and antimicrobial gene content and indistinguishable patterns were observed for some isolates from dogs and cats. Conclusion: Enterococci from dogs and cats may be a source of antimicrobial resistance genes. Significance and Impact of the Study: Dogs and cats may act as reservoirs of antimicrobial resistance genes that can be transferred from pets to people. Although host-specific ecovars of enterococcal species have been described, identical PFGE patterns suggest that enterococcal strains may be exchanged between these two animal species. |
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