Author/Authors :
Liu, Po-Yu Department of Internal Medicine - Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan , Weng, Ling-Ling Department of Veterinary Medicine - College of Veterinary Medicine - National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan , Tseng, Shu-Ying Department of Veterinary Medicine - College of Veterinary Medicine - National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan , Huang, Chou-Chen Veterinary Teaching Hospital - College of Veterinary Medicine - National Chiayi University, Chiayi City, Taiwan , Cheng, Ching-Chang Laboratory Animal Service Center - Office of Research and Development - China Medical University, Taiwan , Mao, Yan-Chiao Department of Emergency Medicine - Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan , Tung, Kwong-Chung Department of Veterinary Medicine - College of Veterinary Medicine - National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan
Abstract :
This study included fifty-eight isolates of P. aeruginosa from the oral cavity of snakes that were recruited from clinical cases, captive and wild snakes. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for the determination of susceptibility were identified by the broth microdilution method. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect β-lactamases genes. With regard to antipseudomonal antibiotics, the lowest nonsusceptible rates were in aztreonam (15%), piperacillin/tazobactam (12%), and amikacin (9%). The nonsusceptible rates were high in gentamicin (33%) and colistin (55%). Meanwhile, blaTEM presented in 100% of isolates where blaAmpC, blaOXA-1, and blaOXA-10 came at 94.8%, 89.7%, and 27.6%, respectively. Emergence of multidrug resistant (MDR) strains and colistin-resistant strains highlights the potential breach of public health as P. aeruginosa could be transmitted through either direct contact or indirect dissemination through the environment. This study reports that the highly resistant P. aeruginosa from snakes' oral cavity were discovered for the very first time in Taiwan.
