Publicação
Exploring Proteus species in dogs from Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe
| Resumo: | The transmission of pathogenic bacteria between animal species is a very concerning problem worldwide. Dogs are increasingly closer to humans, thus increasing the risk of transmission of zoonotic and pathogenic bacteria between them. In low- and middle-income countries, precarious hygienic, sanitary, economic and technological conditions favor the development and transmission of virulent and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. In these countries there are many stray dogs in close proximity to populations, which can act as a reservoir of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, 46 isolates of Proteus spp. obtained from rectal swabs of stray dogs from the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, Santiago (Cidade da Praia) and São Nicolau were analyzed, with the aim of evaluating their antimicrobial resistance profile, their virulence potential and the similarity between isolates. Twelve antimicrobials were tested using the disk diffusion method and the ability to express 5 virulence factors using phenotypic methods. To evaluate the clonality between isolates, PCR fingerpriting was performed using the primer (GTG)5. The isolates were resistant to ampicillin (24/46, 52.2%), amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (13/46, 28.3%), chloramphenicol (9/46, 19.6%) and trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole (8/ 46, 17.4%), with all isolates being susceptible to the other antimicrobials tested. Among the 46 isolates tested, 4 were classified as Multidrug-resistant (MDR) (4/46, 8.7%). Regarding the evaluation of virulence factors’ expression, the Proteus spp. isolates demonstrated high rates of virulence, being capable of producing hemolysins (46/46, 100.0%), gelatinases (42/46, 91.3%), proteases (42/46, 91.3%), biofilm (13/46, 28.3%) and DNases (3/46, 6.5%). After evaluating the level of similarity between the isolates, it the existence of two main clusters with common genomic and phenotypic characteristics was observed, with isolates with different geographic origins presenting very identical profiles. In conclusion, the dogs under study may thus constitute a reservoir and consequently a source of transmission of potentially virulent and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to both humans and the environment, representing a public health concern |
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| Autores principais: | Silvestre, Ana Sofia Antunes |
| Assunto: | Proteus spp Dogs Public Health Antimicrobial resistance Virulence factors Proteus spp Cães Saúde Pública Resistência a antimicrobianos Fatores de virulência |
| Ano: | 2024 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | dissertação de mestrado |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade de Lisboa |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Repositório da Universidade de Lisboa |
| Resumo: | The transmission of pathogenic bacteria between animal species is a very concerning problem worldwide. Dogs are increasingly closer to humans, thus increasing the risk of transmission of zoonotic and pathogenic bacteria between them. In low- and middle-income countries, precarious hygienic, sanitary, economic and technological conditions favor the development and transmission of virulent and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. In these countries there are many stray dogs in close proximity to populations, which can act as a reservoir of pathogenic bacteria. In this study, 46 isolates of Proteus spp. obtained from rectal swabs of stray dogs from the islands of São Tomé, Príncipe, Santiago (Cidade da Praia) and São Nicolau were analyzed, with the aim of evaluating their antimicrobial resistance profile, their virulence potential and the similarity between isolates. Twelve antimicrobials were tested using the disk diffusion method and the ability to express 5 virulence factors using phenotypic methods. To evaluate the clonality between isolates, PCR fingerpriting was performed using the primer (GTG)5. The isolates were resistant to ampicillin (24/46, 52.2%), amoxicillin with clavulanic acid (13/46, 28.3%), chloramphenicol (9/46, 19.6%) and trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole (8/ 46, 17.4%), with all isolates being susceptible to the other antimicrobials tested. Among the 46 isolates tested, 4 were classified as Multidrug-resistant (MDR) (4/46, 8.7%). Regarding the evaluation of virulence factors’ expression, the Proteus spp. isolates demonstrated high rates of virulence, being capable of producing hemolysins (46/46, 100.0%), gelatinases (42/46, 91.3%), proteases (42/46, 91.3%), biofilm (13/46, 28.3%) and DNases (3/46, 6.5%). After evaluating the level of similarity between the isolates, it the existence of two main clusters with common genomic and phenotypic characteristics was observed, with isolates with different geographic origins presenting very identical profiles. In conclusion, the dogs under study may thus constitute a reservoir and consequently a source of transmission of potentially virulent and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria to both humans and the environment, representing a public health concern |
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