Surveillance of bacterial contamination in small animal veterinary hospitals with special focus on antimicrobial resistance and virulence traits of enterococci.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the prevalence of bacterial contamination on 4 surfaces of 4 types of standard equipment in small animal veterinary hospitals.


METHODS
Surveillance study.


METHODS
10 small animal veterinary hospitals.


METHODS
Each hospital was visited 3 times at 4-month intervals; at each visit, a cage door, stethoscope, rectal thermometer, and mouth gag were swabbed. Swab samples were each plated onto media for culture of enterococci and organisms in the family Enterobacteriaceae. Enterococci were identified via a species-specific PCR assay and sodA gene sequencing; species of Enterobacteriaceae were identified with a biochemical test kit. Antimicrobial susceptibility was assessed via the disk diffusion method. Enterococci were screened for virulence traits and genotyped to assess clonality.


RESULTS
Among the 10 hospitals, enterococci were isolated from cage doors in 7, from stethoscopes in 7, from thermometers in 6, and from mouth gags in 1; contamination with species of Enterobacteriaceae was rare. Enterococci were mainly represented by Enterococcus faecium (35.4%), Enterococcus faecalis (33.2%), and Enterococcus hirae (28.3%). Antimicrobial resistance was common in E. faecium, whereas virulence traits were present in 99% of E. faecalis isolates but not in E. faecium isolates. Clonal multidrug-resistant E. faecium was isolated from several surfaces at 1 hospital over multiple visits, whereas sporadic nonclonal contamination was detected in other hospitals.


CONCLUSIONS
Contamination of surfaces in small animal veterinary hospitals with multidrug-resistant enterococci is a potential concern for pets and humans contacting these surfaces. Implementing precautions to minimize enterococcal contamination on these surfaces is recommended.
Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. kstenske@vet.ksu.edu
Kate S
KS
KuKanich
Anuradha
A
Ghosh
Jennifer V
JV
Skarbek
Kale M
KM
Lothamer
Ludek
L
Zurek
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000635:transmission* / Q000662:veterinary*; D006762:Hospitals, Animal / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D006920:Hygiene; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D012307:Risk Factors; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance / Q000662:veterinary; D014774:Virulence; D015047:Zoonoses
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents