Resistance to Antibacterial Agents in Escherichia coli Isolated from Domestic Cats and Dogs in the Northern Region of the Republic of Kazakhstan

The widespread use of antimicrobial agents for pets in veterinary practice has led to the emergence and spread of drug resistance not only in pathogenic but also in opportunistic bacteria. The study aims to evaluate the profile of resistance to antibacterial agents in Escherichia coli strains isolated from domestic cats and dogs, as well as to look into the determinants of resistance responsible for the ability of microorganisms to resist the effects of antimicrobial agents. During 2021-2022, biological material from cats and dogs, taken in veterinary clinics of Kostanay, Republic of Kazakhstan, was analyzed. Identification of genes encoding antimicrobial resistance was carried out by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). As a result, it was found that all isolated strains of microorganisms showed sensitivity to the action of meropenem included in the group of beta-lactam antibiotics and showed resistance to tetracycline, doxycycline, ofloxacin, ampicillin, and amoxicillin. Resistance genes were identified for all the studied groups of antibiotics in the DNA of E. coli isolated from cats and no genes encoding resistance to fluoroquinolones were detected in the DNA of strains isolated from dogs. The most common genes were genes encoding resistance to aminoglycosides (43.8%), tetracyclines (35%), beta-lactams (33.5%), sulfonamides (16.1%), and fluoroquinolones (1.24%). In general, domestic cats and dogs have a high prevalence of E. coli strains resistant to beta-lactam drugs (ampicillin: 40%, amoxicillin: 36%) and tetracyclines (tetracycline: 71%, doxycycline: 47%). Resistance in most cases was explained by the presence of such resistance genes as blaTEM, OXA, tetA, and tetB.