Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 2 of 2 items for
- Author or Editor: Fabrizio Bertelloni x
- Refine by Access: All Content x
Enterococci are opportunistic bacteria that cause severe infections in animals and humans, capable to acquire, express, and transfer antimicrobial resistance. Susceptibility to 21 antimicrobial agents was tested by the disk diffusion method in 222 Enterococcus spp. strains isolated from the fecal samples of 287 healthy domestic dogs. Vancomycin and ampicillin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) and high-level aminoglycoside resistance (HLAR) tests were also performed. Isolates showed resistance mainly to streptomycin (88.7%), neomycin (80.6%), and tetracycline (69.4%). Forty-two (18.9%) isolates showed an HLAR to streptomycin and 15 (6.7%) to gentamicin. Vancomycin and ampicillin MIC values showed 1 and 18 resistant strains, respectively. One hundred and thirty-six (61.2%) strains were classified as multidrug resistant and six (2.7%) strains as possibly extensively drug-resistant bacteria. Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis were the most prevalent antimicrobial resistant species. Companion animals, which often live in close contact with their owners and share the same environment, represent a serious source of enterococci resistant to several antibiotics; for this reason, they may be a hazard for public health by providing a conduit for the entrance of resistance genes into the community.
The fecal samples from 213 captive reptiles were examined, and 29 (13.61%) Salmonella enterica isolates were detected: 14/62 (22.58%) from chelonians, 14/135 (10.37%) from saurians, and 1/16 (6.25%) from ophidians. The isolates were distributed among 14 different serotypes: Miami, Ebrie, Hermannsweder, Tiergarten, Tornov, Pomona, Poona, Goteborg, Abaetetube, Nyanza, Kumasi, Typhimurium, 50:b:z6, 9,12:z29:1,5, and a non-motile serotype with antigenic formula 1,4,[5],12:-:-. Salmonella typhimurium and 50:b:z6 isolates showed the spv plasmid virulence genes, responsible of the capability to induce extra-intestinal infections. In some cases, pulsed field gel electrophoresis revealed different profiles for the strains of the same serotypes, showing different origins, whereas a common source of infection was supposed when one pulsotype had been observed for isolates of a serovar. Twenty-seven (93.10%) isolates showed resistance to one or more antibiotics. Ceftazidime was active to all the tested isolates, whereas the highest percentages of strains were no susceptible to tigecycline (93.10%), streptomycin (89.66%), and sulfonamide (86.21%).
