title: Antimicrobial resistance and virulence gene profiles in P. multocida strains isolated from cats.
abstract: Cats are often described as carriers of Pasteurella multocida in their oral microbiota. This agent is thought to cause pneumonia, conjunctivitis, rhinitis, gingivostomatitis, abscess and osteonecrosis in cats. Human infection with P. multocida has been described in several cases affecting cat owners or after cat bites. In Brazil, the cat population is approximately 21 million animals and is increasing, but there are no studies of the presence of P. multocida in the feline population or of human cases of infection associated with cats. In this study, one hundred and ninety-one healthy cats from owners and shelters in São Paulo State, Brazil, were evaluated for the presence of P. multocida in their oral cavities. Twenty animals were positive for P. multocida , and forty-one strains were selected and characterized by means of biochemical tests and PCR. The P. multocida strains were tested for capsular type, virulence genes and resistance profile. A total of 75.6% (31/41) of isolates belonged to capsular type A, and 24.4% (10/41) of the isolates were untypeable. None of the strains harboured toxA, tbpA or pfhA genes. The frequencies of the other genes tested were variable, and the data generated were used to build a dendrogram showing the relatedness of strains, which were clustered according to origin. The most common resistance profile observed was against sulfizoxazole and trimethoprim-sulphamethoxazole.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Epidemiologia Molecular e Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Thais Sebastiana Porfida
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Epidemiologia Molecular e Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maria Roberta
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Felizardo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Epidemiologia Molecular e Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Debora Dirani Sena
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: de Gobbi
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Epidemiologia Molecular e Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Epidemiologia Molecular e Resistencia a Antimicrobianos, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andrea Micke
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moreno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D001938:Brazil; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002415:Cats; D052978:Disk Diffusion Antimicrobial Tests; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial; D009055:Mouth / Q000382:microbiology; D010326:Pasteurella Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016979:Pasteurella multocida / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D065288:Serogroup; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Pasteurela multocida; cat; isolation; resistance; virulence genes