Distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of bacterial species in stray dogs, hospital-admitted dogs, and veterinary staff in South Korea

Prev Vet Med. 2020 Nov:184:105151. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2020.105151. Epub 2020 Sep 25.

Abstract

Transferring antimicrobial-resistant bacteria from companion animals to human hosts has become increasingly common. Data regarding antimicrobial susceptibility could help veterinarians to select the most appropriate antibiotic treatment. However, standardized and ongoing surveys regarding antimicrobial resistance remain limited. In this study, we investigated the antimicrobial-susceptibility patterns and trends of bacteria isolated from stray dogs, hospital-admitted dogs, and veterinary staff in South Korea from 2018 to 2019. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of different antimicrobials for Staphylococcus spp., Enterobacterales, and Enterococcus spp. were determined to establish representatives of different antibiotic classes relevant for treatment or surveillance. For coagulase-positive and -negative Staphylococci, resistance to gentamicin was <27 %, while that to ampicillin and penicillin was high (33-80 %). The mecA-detection rates among staphylococcal isolates were 28.5 %, 42.6 %, and 32 % from stray dogs, hospital-admitted dogs, and veterinary staffs, respectively. For Enterobacterales, resistance to carbapenems was low (0-6%). A total of 31.2 % and 18.9 % of Enterobacterales isolates from stray dogs and hospital-admitted dogs were confirmed to possess at least one of blaCTX-M, blaSHV, or blaTEM. Additionally, Enterococcus spp. isolates showed no resistance to vancomycin. These results demonstrate that dogs are commonly colonized with antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and highlight the need for further investigation.

Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; Dog; Enterobacterales; Enterococcus spp.; Staphylococcus spp..

MeSH terms

  • Animal Technicians / statistics & numerical data
  • Animals
  • Bacterial Zoonoses / epidemiology*
  • Bacterial Zoonoses / microbiology
  • Dog Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Dog Diseases / microbiology
  • Dogs
  • Drug Resistance, Microbial*
  • Enterococcus / drug effects
  • Enterococcus / isolation & purification
  • Gammaproteobacteria / drug effects
  • Gammaproteobacteria / isolation & purification
  • Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / epidemiology*
  • Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / veterinary*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / epidemiology*
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / microbiology
  • Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / veterinary*
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Prevalence
  • Republic of Korea / epidemiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / epidemiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcal Infections / veterinary
  • Staphylococcus / drug effects
  • Staphylococcus / isolation & purification
  • Veterinarians / statistics & numerical data