Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Characteristics in Enterococcus Isolates from Dogs

Antimicrobial resistant enterococci are among the leading causes of nosocomial infections. Transmission of antimicrobial-resistant enterococci from animals to humans has been shown. For this reason, continuous monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in different animal species is of importance both for animal and human health. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the antimicrobial resistance profiles, resistance mechanisms implicated and virulence traits of 107 enterococci isolated from 125 rectal swab samples taken from dogs. The highest resistance rate was determined against tetracycline (65.4%), followed by ciprofloxacin (19.6%), erythromycin (19.6%), chloramphenicol (8.4%) and ampicillin (3.7%). Fourteen (12.1%) enterococci showed multidrug resistance (MDR) phenotype. The tetM gene was predominantly detected among tetracycline isolates. Of 21 erythromycin resistant isolates, 18 harbored the ermB gene. The frequently detected virulence genes was ccf (54.2%), efaA(fs) (52.3%), cpd (45.8%) and gelE (44.9%). These results indicate that high level of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes exist among enterococci from dogs and pose a potential public health concern.