Antimicrobial resistance changes in enteric Escherichia coli of horses during hospitalisation: resistance profiling of isolates.

This study investigated how hospitalization of horses can lead to an increase in antimicrobial resistance in horse gut bacteria (Escherichia coli). The researchers found that resistance to multiple drugs was significantly higher after a week of hospitalization.

Study Overview

• The main aim of the study was to analyze whether the hospitalization of horses can lead to increased antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli (E.coli) bacteria present in horse feces.
• E.coli samples were cultured from the horses’ feces both upon their arrival at the hospital and after being hospitalized for seven days.
• The researchers then performed an antimicrobial susceptibility test for eight different antimicrobial agents on these cultured bacteria.

Processing of Data

• The resistance profiles of the E.coli isolates were grouped into clusters and were then analyzed to identify patterns of resistance.
• The researchers found notable increases in resistance to seven out of eight antimicrobial agents, along with multi-drug resistance (resistance to three or more classes of antibiotics).
• This level of resistance was significantly higher after seven days of hospitalization.

Key Findings

• Throughout the study, 48 different resistance profiles were identified. Out of the identified profiles, 15 profiles were only present on the day of admission, 16 profiles emerged only after seven days of hospitalization, and the remaining 17 profiles were observed at both times.
• The researchers also found that resistance increased with the number of days the horses were hospitalized. Specifically, the resistance profiles on day seven showed more resistance to a higher number of antimicrobial agents.
• The study ultimately established that the hospitalization of horses for a week resulted in significant changes in the resistance profiles of E.coli bacteria in the horses’ feces.