Antibiotic-Resistant and Sequence Type 131 in Fecal Colonization in Dogs in Taiwan.

Background: Most drug-resistant isolates in dogs come from diseased dogs. Prior to this study, the prevalence and risk factors of fecal carriage drug-resistant and epidemic clone sequence type (ST) 131 (including subtypes) isolates in dogs were unknown.

Methods: Rectal swabs were used for isolation from 299 non-infectious dogs in a veterinary teaching hospital in Taiwan. Antibiotic resistance and multiplex PCR analyses of for major STs were performed.

Result: There were 43.1% cefazolin-resistant, 22.1% fluoroquinolone-resistant, and 9.4% extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing in our cohort. In the phylogenetic study, B2 was the predominant group (30.1%). The cefazolin-resistant group and ciprofloxacin-resistant group had greater antibiotic exposure in the last 14 days ( < 0.05). The age, sex, and dietary habits of the antibiotic-resistant and -susceptible groups were similar. In the seven isolates of ST131 in fecal colonization, the most predominant subtypes were FimH41 and FimH22.

Conclusion: Recent antibiotic exposure was related to the fecal carriage of antibiotic-resistant isolates. Three major subtypes (FimH41, H22, and H30) of ST131 can thus be found in fecal carriage in dogs in Taiwan.