Companion Animals as Potential Reservoirs of Antibiotic Resistant Diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in Shandong, China

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes of Escherichia coli (E. coli) from companion animals were still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) resistance genes of E. coli from companion animals in Shandong, China. A total of 79 isolates (80.6%) were recovered from 98 healthy or diarrheal companion animals in 2021, among which ESBLs-producing isolates accounted for 43.0% (34/79), and more than half of ESBL E. coli (ESBL-EC) strains (n = 19) were isolated from healthy companion animals. Diarrheagenic E. coli isolates (45.6%, n = 36) were represented by enterotoxigenic (ETEC) (32.9%), enteropathogenic (EPEC) (10.1%) and enteroinvasive (EIEC) (2.6%), 20 isolates of which were from healthy pets. Among tested antibiotics, resistance to tetracycline (64.6%) was the most commonly observed, followed by doxycycline (59.5%) and ampicillin (53.2%). Notably, all isolates were susceptible to meropenem. The multidrug-resistant (MDR) rate was 49.4%, 20 isolates of which were ESBLs producers; moreover, 23.4%, 16.4% of ESBL-EC strains were resistant to 5 or more, 7 or more antibiotics, respectively. Among the 5 β-lactamase resistance genes, the most frequent gene was blaCTX-M (60.76%), followed by blaSHV (40.51%). The plasmid-mediated quinolone resistance (PMQR) gene aac(6’)-Ib-cr was detected in 35 isolates. Additionally, ESBL-associated genes (i.e., blaCTX-M, blaSHV) were found in 76.5% ESBL-EC strains, with six isolates carrying blaCTX-M and blaSHV. The marker gene of high-pathogenicity island gene irp2 (encoding iron capture systems) was the most frequency virulence gene. Our results showed that ESBL-EC were widespread in healthy or diarrhea companion animals, especially healthy pets, which may be a potential reservoir of antibiotic resistance, therefore, enhancing a risk to public and animal health.

Prevalence and Risk Factors Associated with Multidrug Resistance and Extended-Spectrum β-lactamase Producing E. coli Isolated from Healthy and Diseased Cats

“…The results of this study are consistent with the high frequency of resistance to AMP and SXT reported for feline E. coli isolates in other studies [27,28]; however, the resistant rate to AMC (6.4%) was lower than that (15-100%) found in these studies. Moreover, all E. coli isolates were susceptible to MEM, suggesting the absence of carbapenems resistance among our isolates which is consistent with previous studies in cats from Australia [27] and China [19].…”

“…In this study, E. coli was recovered from 28.2% and 55.5% of apparently healthy and diseased cats, respectively. A similar isolation rate (52%) was observed in diseased cats in Italy [26], whereas a higher isolate rate (45.6%) was found among apparently healthy cats in China [19].…”

“…Despite the fact that numerous studies have found ESBL-producing E. coli in companion animals all over the world [17][18][19], to the authors' knowledge, no data on AMR profiles of E. coli isolates from cats in Saudi Arabia have been published yet. Furthermore, studies on the risk factors associated with ESBL-producing E. coli colonization in cats are limited.…”

RB49-like Bacteriophages Recognize O Antigens as One of the Alternative Primary Receptors

“…E. coli is an extremely divergent bacterial species with more than 200 O-serotypes differing by the structure of the O-polysaccharide repetitive unit described [ 9 , 52 , 53 ]. Many of these serotypes may feature pathogenic potential and cause different infections in humans and in animals [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. For example, more than 50% of the urological infections in patients without anatomical anomalies are caused by uropathogenic E. coli , represented by more than 15 serotypes [ 59 ].…”

Distribution and Genomic Characterization of Third-Generation Cephalosporin-Resistant Escherichia coli Isolated from a Single Family and Home Environment: A 2-Year Longitudinal Study

“…There are the following six well-described categories: enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC), enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC), enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC), enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), extraintestinal E. coli (ExPEC), and Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) based on clinical characteristics and virulence factors [ 1 ]. The worldwide emergence of multidrug-resistant E. coli isolated from human, animal, and animal-derived products warrants global surveillance [ 2 , 3 , 4 ].…”