Dogs and cats transmit antibiotic-resistant superbugs to their owners

2023-04-17 13:42:03

Dogs and cats transmit multi-resistant antibiotic-resistant superbugs to their owners that can be lethal, according to a new study by Portuguese researchers presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID).

Based on this evidence, experts recommend including households with pets in programs to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance. According to the Portuguese study, six pets of Portugal y one from the UK were carriers of antibiotic resistant bacteria similar to their owners.

A health threat

Antibiotic resistance is reaching dangerously high levels around the world. Drug-resistant infections are estimated to kill about 700,000 people a year worldwide and, according to forecasts, the number will increase to 10 million in 2050 if no action is taken, which is why the World Health Organization (WHO) considers antibiotic resistance to be one of the greatest threats to public health throughout which humanity faces.

Dogs, cats, and other domestic animals are known to contribute to the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens that can cause human illness. Researcher Juliana Menezes and colleagues from the Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory of the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health of the Veterinary School of the University of Lisbon (Portugal) wanted to find out if pets treated with antibiotics for infections share these pathogens with their pets. owners.

They analyzed fecal samples from dogs and cats and their owners to detect enterobacterales (a large family of bacteria that includes ‘E. coli’ and ‘Klebsiella pneumoniae’) resistant to common antibiotics.

They focused on bacteria resistant to third-generation cephalosporins (used to treat a wide range of conditions, including meningitis, pneumonia, and sepsis, and ranked by the World Health Organization among the most important antibiotics for human medicine) and carbapenems (part of the last line of defense when other antibiotics have failed). The prospective longitudinal study involved five cats, 38 dogs, and 78 humans from 43 Portuguese households and seven dogs and eight humans from seven UK households.

In Portugal, one dog (1/43 pets, 2.3%) was colonized by a multiresistant Escherichia coli strain producing OXA-181. OXA-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 Enterobacteriaceae. These are resistant to third generation cephalosporins. These are resistant to third generation cephalosporins.

In eight households, two with cats and six with dogs, both the pet and the owner were carriers of ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria. In six of these households, the DNA of the bacteria isolated from the pets (one cat and five dogs) and their owners was similar, meaning that these bacteria were likely transmitted between the animals and humans. It is not known if they were transferred from pet to human or vice versa.

In the UK, one dog (1/7.14.3%) was colonized with ‘E. coli’ that produced NDM-5 and CTX-M-15 beta-lactamases. These ‘E. coli’ are resistant to antibiotics, third generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and 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 the pet and the owner were carriers of ESBL/AmpC-producing bacteria. In one of these homes, the DNA of the bacteria isolated from the dog and the owner was similar, suggesting that the bacteria likely passed from one to the other. The direction of the transfer is unclear.

All dogs and cats were successfully treated. of your skin, soft tissue and urinary tract infections. The owners had no infections, so they did not need treatment.

Menezes, a doctoral student, stresses that their study provides “evidence that bacteria resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, critically important antibiotics, are transmitted from pets to their owners.”

Likewise, the researcher advises pet owners to practice good hygiene by washing their hands after picking up their dog or cat’s droppings and even after petting them.