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A study presented at the European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) reveals evidence of transmission of multidrug-resistant bacteria among pet cats and dogs and their owners in the United Kingdom and Portugal. Researchers found similar antibiotic-resistant bacteria in six pets from Portugal and one from the UK and their respective owners. This highlights the importance of including households with pets in efforts to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as antibiotic-resistant bacteria pose a significant public health threat worldwide. increase. To minimize the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, pet owners should practice good hygiene, including washing hands after handling pets and their excrement.
People in England and Portugal have the same multidrug-resistant bacteria as their pets. Requires dogs and cats to be included in antibiotic resistance assessments.
Researchers have found evidence of transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacteria among pets and their owners in the UK and Portugal, highlighting the need to include households with pets in antimicrobial resistance reduction programmes. doing.
Evidence that multidrug-resistant bacteria are transmitted between pet cats and dogs and their owners will be presented at this year’s European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (15-18 April). ) will be published.
A Portuguese study found that six pets in Portugal and one in the UK had antibiotic-resistant bacteria similar to those found in their owners.
The findings highlight the importance of including households with pets in programs to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance.
Antibiotic resistance has reached dangerously high levels around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified antibiotic-resistant bacteria as one of the greatest public health threats we face. Human race.
“Owners can reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria by practicing good hygiene, including washing hands after collecting or petting dog or cat feces.” — Mr. Menezes
Dogs, cats, and other pets are known to contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens that can cause disease in humans. Juliana Menezes and colleagues at the Institute wanted to find out whether pets being treated with antibiotics for infections shared such pathogens with their owners.
Researchers tested fecal samples from dogs and cats and their owners for gut bacteria (a large family of bacteria that includes the gut bacteria). Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae) resistant to common antibiotics.
They are third-generation cephalosporins (used to treat a wide range of conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis, and classified by the World Health Organization among the most important antibiotics for human medicine) and carbapenems (one of the most important antibiotics for human medicine). part), which is the last line of defense when other antibiotics have failed). A prospective longitudinal study involved 5 cats, 38 dogs, and 78 humans from his 43 households in Portugal and 7 dogs and his 8 humans from his 7 households in the UK. bottom.
In Portugal, 1 dog (1/43 of pets, 2.3%) became colonized with the multidrug-resistant OXA-181-producing strain. Escherichia coliOXA-181 is an enzyme that confers resistance to carbapenems.
Three cats and 21 dogs (24/43 pets, 55.8%) and 28 owners (28/78, 35.9%) harbored ESBL/Amp-C-producing gut bacteria. They are resistant to third generation cephalosporins.
In 8 households, 2 with cats and 6 with dogs, both pets and owners carried ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria. Six of these homes[{” attribute=””>DNA of the bacteria isolated from the pets (one cat and five dogs) and their owners was similar, meaning these bacteria were probably passed between the animals and humans. It is not known whether they were transferred from pet to human or vice versa.
In the UK, one dog (1/7,14.3%) was colonized by multidrug-resistant E. coli producing NDM-5 and CTX-M-15 beta-lactamases. These E. coli are resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and several other families of antibiotics.
ESBL/AmpC-producing Enterobacterales were isolated from five dogs (5/7, 71.4%) and three owners (3/8, 37.5%).
In two households with dogs, both pet and owner were carrying ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria. In one of these homes, the DNA of the bacteria isolated from the dog and owner was similar, suggesting the bacteria probably passed from one to the other. The direction of transfer is unclear.
All of the dogs and cats were successfully treated for their skin, soft tissue, and urinary tract infections.
The owners did not have infections and so did not need treatment.
Ms. Menezes, a PhD student, says: “In this study, we provide evidence that bacteria resistant to a third generation cephalosporins, critically important antibiotics, are being passed from pets to their owners.
“Dogs and cats may aid the spread and persistence of such bacteria in the community and it is vitally important that they are included in assessments of antimicrobial resistance.
“Owners can reduce the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria by practicing good hygiene, including washing their hands after collecting their dog or cat’s waste and even after petting them.”
This article is based on oral presentation 208 at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) annual meeting. The material has been peer-reviewed by the congress selection committee.
The work was supported by JPIAMR/0002/2016 Project—PET-Risk Consortium and by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia IP (UIDB/00276/2020); JM and JMS were supported by a PhD fellowship (2020.07562.BD; 2020.06540.BD, respectively).
