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Are dogs and cats a reservoir of resistant and virulent Enterococcus faecalis strains and a potential threat to public health?
Author(s) -
Trościańczyk A.,
Nowakiewicz A.,
Gnat S.,
Łagowski D.,
Osińska M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.15074
Subject(s) - enterococcus faecalis , microbiology and biotechnology , virulence , biology , tetracycline , kanamycin , ampicillin , penicillin , streptomycin , gentamicin , enterococcus , ciprofloxacin , antibiotic resistance , genotype , erythromycin , antibiotics , bacteria , gene , staphylococcus aureus , genetics
Aims The aim of the study was to assess resistance and virulence of Enterococcus faecalis isolated from the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and cats, analyse their genotypic variability and estimate the correlation between the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, virulence determinants and genotypic profiles. Methods and Results The susceptibility of E. faecalis to penicillin, ampicillin, vancomycin, erythromycin, tetracycline, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, streptomycin and kanamycin was determined by the broth microdilution method. The isolates were tested for the presence of selected genes encoding resistance to macrolides, tetracyclines, aminoglycosides and glycopeptides as well as genes encoding virulence factors. Genotyping was performed using the ADSRRS‐fingerprinting method. The highest percentage of resistant strains was observed in relation to erythromycin (96%), ciprofloxacin (93%) and tetracycline (82%). High percentage of strains resistant to high‐level aminoglycosides was noted (kanamycin—33%, gentamicin—29%, streptomycin—24%), as well as multidrug‐resistant (78%). The genotypic analysis of E. faecalis showed high heterogeneity of genotypic profiles (37) correlating with some resistance profiles. The most common virulence genes amongst E. faecalis were efa Afs (93%), cpd, ccf and cob (86%). Significance and Impact of the Study The results of this study confirm that companion animals should be considered as a reservoir of E. faecalis carrying resistance and virulence determinants.