CLONALITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN CANINE UROPATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI

Tessa E. LeCuyer

Escherichia coli is the most common cause of urinary tract infections (UTI) in humans and in dogs. These uropathogens are a subset of the larger population of E. coli and are opportunistic pathogens with specific virulence-associated gene profiles that have a reservoir in the gastrointestinal tract, in which they do not cause disease. In people, E. coli that causes UTI and other extraintestinal infections is known to have a clonal population structure; the most common strain is ST131, which often carries high levels of antimicrobial resistance, including plasmid-mediated broad spectrum beta-lactamases. Fecal strains of E. coli are shared within households between companion animals and their owners, highlighting the potential importance of companion animals in the overall epidemiology of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli from a public health perspective. We conducted a multicenter, prospective cohort study to assess the population structure and antimicrobial resistance of E. coli that cause UTI in dogs. We observed a clonal population structure in dogs, but with a canine-specific dominant strain, ST372, which is also found occasionally in human infections. Additionally, we identified plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance genes of public health concern. We also used the prospective cohort to conduct a study to better understand the mechanisms of recurrence of E. coli UTI in dogs, which we observed to be most commonly associated with persistence of one strain of E. coli that causes multiple episodes of UTI. Finally, we developed a pilot clinical study to assess the impact of common veterinary oral antimicrobials on fecal E. coli of dogs, both in terms of the virulence-associated gene repertoire as well as antimicrobial resistance. In this clinical study, we observed that dogs on high-doses of enrofloxacin had suppression of fecal E. coli for at least four days after antimicrobial therapy, and that dogs treated with label doses of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid had increased levels of antimicrobial resistance in their feces. This information provides new insights for veterinarians, provides a potential role for dogs as a model of antimicrobial effects on gastrointestinal E. coli, and highlights the role of dogs in the overall epidemiology of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli.

CLONALITY AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN CANINE UROPATHOGENIC ESCHERICHIA COLI

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