Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance is a
major public health concern worldwide. This
study aims to determine the prevalence of
Enterobacterales producing beta-lactamase
(TEM, SHV, OXA) or extended-spectrum
beta-lactamases (ESBL), as well as plasmidmediated
resistance to quinolones (PMQR)
(qnrA, qnrB, qnrS) in companion animals
from the northeast region of Romania. A
total of 124 faecal samples were collected
aseptically from healthy dogs attending the
veterinary practice for vaccination and
cultivated on Brilliance ESBL medium
(Oxoid, UK). The ESBL production testing
was performed using the combination disc
test. The identification of Enterobacterales
strains was achieved using molecular
identification and based on biochemical
tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing
was performed using the disk diffusion
method. Identification of genes encoding for
beta-lactamase enzymes and genes encoding
plasmid-mediated resistance to quinolones
was performed by PCR according to the
protocols previously described. After ESBL
screening, 31 (31/124; 25%) extendedspectrum
cephalosporin (ESC)-resistant
Enterobacterales were obtained, and 67.74% (21/31) of them were confirmed as ESBLproducers.
Regarding the Enterobacterales
species, 27 (27/31; 87.1%) were Escherichia
coli and 4 (4/31; 12.9%) strains were
Klebsiella pneumoniae. Among the ESBLproducing
isolates, the blaCTX-M-1 gene group
was predominant (58.82%), followed by the
blaCTX-M-9 group (41.18%). The blaTEM,
blaSHV and blaOXA gene groups were
identified in 54.83%, 29.03% and 3.22% of
the analysed strains, respectively. The
prevalence of PMQR genes was 22.58% and
consisted only of qnrS (19.35%) and qnrA
(3.22%) genes. The prevalence of ESBL
strains related to the total number of
analysed samples was 16.93% (21/124). The
findings show a significant prevalence of
ESBLs and PMQR genes in
Enterobacterales strains isolated from the
faeces of healthy dogs, implying that pets
may pose a risk of transmitting ESBL strains
to other animals or owners.
