Routine antibiotic therapy in dogs increases the detection of antimicrobial-resistant faecal Escherichia coli. (11th September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Schmidt, Vanessa M; Pinchbeck, Gina; McIntyre, K Marie; Nuttall, Tim; McEwan, Neil; Dawson, Susan; Williams, Nicola J
• Is Part Of: Journal of antimicrobial chemotherapy. Volume 73:Number 12(2018)
• Page Start: 3305
• Page End: 3316
• Publication Date: 2018-09-11
• Subjects: Anti-infective agents -- Periodicals; Chemotherapy -- Periodicals; 615.58
• DOI: 10.1093/jac/dky352
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0305-7453

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical health problem, with systemic antimicrobial therapy driving development of AMR across the host spectrum. Objectives: This study compares longitudinal carriage, at multiple timepoints, of AMR faecal Escherichia coli in dogs undergoing routine antimicrobial treatment. Methods: Faecal samples ( n = 457) from dogs ( n = 127) were examined pretreatment, immediately after treatment and 1 month and 3 months post-treatment with one of five antimicrobials . Isolates were tested for susceptibility to a range of antimicrobials using disc diffusion for each treatment group at different timepoints; the presence/absence of corresponding resistance genes was investigated using PCR assays. The impact of treatment group/timepoint and other risk factors on the presence of resistance [MDR, fluoroquinolone resistance, third-generation cephalosporin resistance (3GCR) and ESBL and AmpC production] was investigated using multilevel modelling. Samples with at least one AMR E. coli from selective/non-selective agar were classed as positive. Resistance was also assessed at the isolate level, determining the abundance of AMR from non-selective culture. Results: Treatment with β-lactams or fluoroquinolones was significantly associated with the detection of 3GCR, AmpC-producing, MDR and/or fluoroquinolone-resistant E. coli, but not ESBL-producing E. coli, immediately after treatment. However, 1 month post-treatment, only amoxicillin/clavulanate was significantly associated with the detection of 3GCR; there was no significant difference at 3 months post-treatment for any antimicrobial compared with pretreatment samples. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrated that β-lactam and fluoroquinolone antibiotic usage is associated with increased detection of important phenotypic and genotypic AMR faecal E. coli following routine therapy in vet-visiting dogs. This has important implications for veterinary and public health in terms of antimicrobial prescribing and biosecurity protocols, and dog waste disposal.