RESUMO
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous opportunistic bacterium that causes diseases in animals and humans. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity, antimicrobial resistance, biofilm formation, and virulence and antibiotic resistance genes of P. aeruginosa isolated from the uterus of cow, camel, and mare with clinical endometritis and their drinking water. Among the 180 uterine swabs and 90 drinking water samples analysed, 54 (20%) P. aeruginosa isolates were recovered. Isolates were identified biochemically to the genus level by the automated Vitek 2 system and genetically by the amplification of the gyrB gene and the sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Multilocus sequence typing identified ten different sequence types for the P. aeruginosa isolates. The identification of ST2012 was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) higher than that of ST296, ST308, ST111, and ST241. The isolates exhibited significantly (p ≤ 0.05) increased resistance to piperacillin (77.8%), ciprofloxacin (59.3%), gentamicin (50%), and ceftazidime (38.9%). Eight (14.8%) isolates showed resistance to imipenem; however, none of the isolates showed resistance to colistin. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was observed in 24 isolates (44.4%) with a multiple antibiotic resistance index ranging from 0.44 to 0.77. MDR was identified in 30 (33.3%) isolates. Furthermore, 38.8% and 9.2% of the isolates exhibited a positive extended-spectrum-ß-lactamase (ESBL) and metallo-ß-lactamase (MBL) phenotype, respectively. The most prevalent ß-lactamase encoding genes were blaTEM and blaCTX-M, however, the blaIPM gene was not detected in any of the isolates. Biofilm formation was observed in 49 (90.7%) isolates classified as: 11.1% weak biofilm producers; 38.9% moderate biofilm producers; 40.7% strong biofilm producers. A positive correlation was observed between the MAR index and biofilm formation. In conclusion, the results highlighted that farm animals with clinical endometritis could act as a reservoir for MDR and virulent P. aeruginosa. The emergence of ESBLs and MBLs producing P. aeruginosa in different farm animals is a public health concern. Therefore, surveillance programs to monitor and control MDR P. aeruginosa in animals are required.
RESUMO
The objectives of the present study were to characterize Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) infection using serological and molecular tools and investigate the distribution and molecular characterization of MAP strains (cattle (C) and sheep (S) types) in sheep, goat, cattle, and camel herds in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Serum and fecal samples were collected from all animals aged >2 years old in 31 herds (sheep = 8, goats = 6, cattle = 8 and camels = 9) from January to December 2019. Serum samples were tested by ELISA for the detection of MAP antibodies. Fecal samples were tested by PCR for the detection of MAP IS900 gene and the identification of MAP strains. MAP antibodies were detected in 19 (61.3%) herds. At the animal level, antibodies against MAP were detected in 43 (19.5%) sheep, 21 (17.1%) goats, 13 (19.7%) cattle and 22 (9.1%) camels. The IS900 gene of MAP was detected in 23 (74.2%) herds and was directly amplified from fecal samples of 59 (26.8%) sheep, 34 (27.6%) goats, 20 (30.3%) cattle and 36 (15.0%) camels. The S-type was the most prevalent MAP type identified in 15 herds, and all were identified as type-I, while the C-type was identified in only 8 herds. The IS900 sequences revealed genetic differences among the MAP isolates recovered from sheep, goats, cattle and camels. Results from the present study show that MAP was prevalent and confirm the distribution of different MAP strains in sheep, goat, cattle and camel herds in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia.
