CTX-M extended-spectrum β-lactamases are enzymes produced by bacteria that are capable of inhibiting the antimicrobial effects of cephalosporin drugs. Recently, the first domestically acquired Salmonella in the United States expressing bla(CTX-M) was reported. This is a concern because expanded-spectrum cephalosporins are the treatment of choice for invasive Gram-negative infections, including salmonellosis in children. Because Salmonella transmission is primarily foodborne, there is also concern that resistant enteric bacteria from livestock can be transferred through the food supply chain to consumers. bla(CTX-M) has not been previously identified in bacterial isolates from food animal populations in the United States. We report the recovery of CTX-M-type extended-spectrum β-lactamases from fecal Escherichia coli of sick and healthy dairy cattle in Ohio. Four individual fecal samples yielded E. coli isolates representing three clonal strains that carried bla(CTX-M) on transferable plasmids. Two distinguishable plasmids were identified, each encoding bla(CTX-M-1) or bla(CTX-M-79). Transferrable bla(CTX-M) genes in bovine E. coli have the potential to serve as a reservoir of resistance for pathogens and may represent a public health concern.
Helcococcus ovis is a newly established species in the genus Helcococcus. The clinical significance of this organism in sheep has not been reported. In the current report, isolation of H. ovis from a 6-month-old mixed-breed ewe lamb that died of respiratory disease is described. Pathologic examination revealed severe, focally extensive, chronic necrotizing pleuritis with intralesional coccobacilli and mild, multifocal, subacute mucopurulent bronchopneumonia, indicating a bacterial etiology. A Gram-positive bacterium was isolated in heavy growth from the lung tissue. DNA sequence analysis on the 16S rDNA gene demonstrated that the isolate was H. ovis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of isolation of H. ovis associated with infection in sheep with pleuritis and bronchopneumonia.
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