Prevalence of vancomycin resistance and multiple drug resistance in enterococci in equids in North India.

The research discovered a high prevalence of enterococci – bacteria that are resistant to multiple drugs, including vancomycin – in equids, such as horses, in North India. The study found that 80% of these bacterial strains are resistant to vancomycin, and almost 100% are resistant to multiple drugs.

Methodology

• The study involved testing 267 enterococci samples taken from a range of clinical and non-clinical samples of equids.
• These samples were tested for their sensitivity to 19 different antimicrobials, including vancomycin. This testing was carried out using the disc diffusion method, a microbiological method used to find out the susceptibility of bacteria to antimicrobials.

Results

• Results revealed a significant prevalence of drug resistance. 80.2% of the enterococci from the samples were resistant to vancomycin, and an alarming 99.6% were resistant to multiple drugs.
• A statistical test – chi squared – showed that there was a significant difference between the bacteria’s haemolytic potential (ability to destroy red blood cells) and resistance to vancomycin. The same statistical test also showed that the bacteria from health equids were significantly less resistant to vancomycin than those from clinically sick animals.

Sensitivity to Other Antimicrobials

• In addition to vancomycin, the researchers also tested the bacterial samples for their sensitivity to other antimicrobial drugs.
• Results showed differing levels of sensitivity. Maximum sensitivity was found for imipenem (75% of samples), followed by tetracycline (60%), and amoxicillin+clavulanic acid (54%). The least sensitivity was found for cefdinir (only 4% of samples).

Conclusions

• Findings suggest that there’s a high prevalence of vancomycin-resistant and multiple drug-resistant strains of enterococci in equids in North India. More than 80% of these strains were found to be resistant to vancomycin, and nearly all (99.6%) were resistant to multiple drugs.
• This prevalence, particularly in healthy equids, could pose a potential danger to human health –especially for those in regular contact with these animals.