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Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from national horse racetracks and private horse-riding courses in Korea

2016; Korean Society of Veterinary Science; Volume: 17; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4142/jvs.2016.17.2.199

1976-555X

Yeon Soo Chung, Jae Won Song, Dae Ho Kim, Sook Shin, Young Kyung Park, Soo Jin Yang, Suk Kyung Lim, Kun Taek Park, Yong Ho Park,

Bacterial Identification and Susceptibility Testing

Limited information is available regarding horse-associated antimicrobial resistant (AR) Escherichia (E.) coli. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency and characterize the pattern of AR E. coli from healthy horse-associated samples. A total of 143 E. coli (4.6%) were isolated from 3,078 samples collected from three national racetracks and 14 private horse-riding courses in Korea. Thirty of the E. coli isolates (21%) showed antimicrobial resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, and four of the AR E. coli (13.3%) were defined as multi-drug resistance. Most of the AR E. coli harbored AR genes corresponding to their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Four of the AR E. coli carried class 1 integrase gene (intI1), a gene associated with multi-drug resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis showed no genetic relatedness among AR E. coli isolated from different facilities; however, cross-transmissions between horses or horses and environments were detected in two facilities. Although cross-transmission of AR E. coli in horses and their environments was generally low, our study suggests a risk of transmission of AR bacteria between horses and humans. Further studies are needed to evaluate the risk of possible transmission of horse-associated AR bacteria to human communities through horse riders and horse-care workers.