Research article

CARRIAGE OF ENTEROCOCCI SPECIES AMONG HUMAN AND PET ANIMALS

Hassan Falah Mohammed*, Nagham Mohammed Al-Gburi*

Online First: November 28, 2022


Enterococci are a part of the normal microbial flora in the gastrointestinal tracts of humans, animals, and the environment. They have been recognized as opportunistic pathogens that cause infections in humans and animals, especially when they are intrinsically more resistant to antimicrobial agents commonly used in hospitals. This study was conducted to investigate the carriage of enterococci species(spp) in oral, nasal, and fecal of human and their companion pets. Oral, nasal, and fecal swabs were collected from 25 dogs (25) and cats (25) when brought to the animal hospital, and oral, nasal swabs from their owners and from other owners (100) were collected , and fecal samples were collected from 50 other human group during a period from 2.Nov.2021to28.April.2022. Isolation and identification were done by traditional,Vitek2 system,and molecular methods using species-specific genes. The results of the current study showed that in human, E.gallinarum was the most predominant spp isolated from oral and nasal, followed by E.faecalis detected in oral and fecal samples , and E. faecium detected in oral and nasal samples. Males had a higher carriage and isolated enterococci spp reported than in females. According to age, the 10-19year old age group had a higher carriage and isolated enterococci spp than other groups. In dogs, E.gallinarum followed by E. faecium were the most spp identified from nasal; E. faecium were the higher isolates followed by E.gallinarum in oral, and only E.faecalis were detected in fecal samples. All isolates from dogs males, puppies and adults dogs were given the highest positive carriage of enterococci.While in cats, E.faecalis isolated from oral higher than fecal samples and E.gallinarum isolated only from nasal samples. According to gender and age,Tom cats were higher carriage than Pussy cats ,and adults cats given the highest positive enterococci. The current study found that the most prominent enterococci spp in human, dogs and cats were E.gallinarum and E.faecalis. Furthermore, the isolation of the same enterococci spp in humans and their animals may be attributed to transmitted from these animals to their owners or vers versa and possible consider as zoonotic transmission.

Keywords

Enterococci, Human, Dogs Cats