title: Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli from national horse racetracks and private horse-riding courses in Korea.
abstract: Limited information is available regarding horse-associated antimicrobial resistant (AR) Escherichia (E.) coli. This study was designed to evaluate the frequency and characterize the pattern of AR E. coli from healthy horse-associated samples. A total of 143 E. coli (4.6%) were isolated from 3,078 samples collected from three national racetracks and 14 private horse-riding courses in Korea. Thirty of the E. coli isolates (21%) showed antimicrobial resistance to at least one antimicrobial agent, and four of the AR E. coli (13.3%) were defined as multi-drug resistance. Most of the AR E. coli harbored AR genes corresponding to their antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. Four of the AR E. coli carried class 1 integrase gene (intI1), a gene associated with multi-drug resistance. Pulsed-field gel electrophoretic analysis showed no genetic relatedness among AR E. coli isolated from different facilities; however, cross-transmissions between horses or horses and environments were detected in two facilities. Although cross-transmission of AR E. coli in horses and their environments was generally low, our study suggests a risk of transmission of AR bacteria between horses and humans. Further studies are needed to evaluate the risk of possible transmission of horse-associated AR bacteria to human communities through horse riders and horse-care workers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Yeon Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Jae Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Dae Ho
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Sook
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Young Kyung
authors.initials: YK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science and Technology, College of Biotechnology and Natural Resource, Chung-Ang University 2nd Campus, Anseong 17546, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Anyang 14086, Korea.
authors.forename: Suk Kyung
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Kun Taek
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Microbiology, BK21 PLUS Program for Creative Veterinary Science Research, and Research Institute for Veterinary Science, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Koreaivers.
authors.forename: Yong Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D004926:Escherichia coli; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006736:Horses; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
keywords: Escherichia coli; antimicrobial resistance; class 1 integron; cross-transmission; horse