Abstract
We report a survey (August 2017 to March 2018) and risk factor analysis of faecal carriage of antibacterial-resistant (ABR) Escherichia coli in 223 16-week-old dogs in the United Kingdom. Raw feeding was associated with the presence of fluoroquinolone-resistant (FQ-R) E. coli and those resistant to tetracycline, amoxicillin, and streptomycin, but not to cefalexin. Whole genome sequencing of 36 FQ-R E. coli isolates showed a wide range of sequence types (STs), with almost exclusively mutational FQ-R dominated by ST744 and ST162. Comparisons between E. coli isolates from puppies known to be located within a 50 × 50 km region with those isolated from human urinary tract infections (isolated in parallel in the same region) identified an ST744 FQ-R lineage that was carried by one puppy and caused one urinary tract infection. Accordingly, we conclude that raw feeding is associated with carriage of ABR E. coli in dogs even at 16 weeks of age and that bacteria carried by puppies are shared with humans. We therefore suggest that those who feed their dogs raw meat seriously consider the potential ABR-transmission threat their pet may become as a result and deploy appropriate hygiene practices in mitigation.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance and antibacterial resistance (ABR) has many negative impacts on the health and welfare of humans and animals including increased morbidity and mortality and an in crease in treatment costs [1]
This study has identified raw meat feeding as a risk factor for the excretion of ABR E. coli in the faeces of 16-week-old puppies, with strong impact on excretion of isolates resistant to the criti cally important fluoroquinolones
14/34 dogs fed commercial raw food were colonised with FQ-R E. coli, which is a significant asso ciation to that seen for raw meat feeding overall
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance and antibacterial resistance (ABR) has many negative impacts on the health and welfare of humans and animals including increased morbidity and mortality and an in crease in treatment costs [1]. ABR bacteria found in domestic pet dogs and their owners are often indis tinguishable [9,10,11,12,13]. There are several ways that domestic pet dogs may become colonised by ABR E. coli and so bring them into the home. Ingestion is an essential part of colonisation; ingestion of faeces or faecally contami nated food or water by dogs may be a key source of ABR bacteria derived from humans and farmed animals [14,15]. Of direct relevance to the present study, two UK studies have identified associations between ABR in faecal E. coli of adult dogs and those dogs being fed raw meat [19,21]
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