A PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN ON ESBL-MDR KLEBSIELLA PNEUMONIAE AND ESCHERICHIA COLI AMONG PET ANIMALS SUFFERING FROM OTITIS

The current study was conducted to investigate ear canal colonization by ESBL-KP and ESBL-EC in pets clinically diagnosed as infectious otitis cases. Also, predisposition correlation links between the isolation rate and several related statuses, such as age, habitat, and breed of the incorporated cases. Ear swabs were obtained from 118 and 94 pet dogs and cats, respectively, with no known history of hospitalization. All samples were enriched before being cultured on the selective MacConkey agar and the enriched 5% sheep blood agar to isolate the Enterobacteriaceae members of interest. K. pneumoniae and E. coli were further identified by biochemical and molecular techniques. Antimicrobial resistance profiles of the obtained isolates were determined by the Kirby Bauer method, and the multi-drug-resistant strains were examined by PCR to detect the blaCTX-M and blaTEM genes. Ear prevalence rates of ESBL-KP among pet dogs and cats were 17.8% and 18%, respectively, whilst those for ESBL-EC were 12.4% and 9.6%, respectively. None of the isolated K. pneumoniae and E. coli were sensitive to linezolid, tylosin, and lincomycin. However, K. pneumoniae and E. coli resistant to ceftriaxone, ceftazidime, and cefoperazone were detected in the examined samples at rates of 17.6%, 19.4%, and 21.2%, respectively. Moreover, among the isolated K. pneumoniae and E. coli, all obtained isolates showed multidrug resistance. The blaCTX-M and blaTEM genes were detected on all canine and feline MDR isolates. The occurrence of blaCTX-M and blaTEM genes highlights the role of pet animals as a possible source of transmission of such pathogens to humans.