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Klebsiella-induced infections in domestic species: a case-series study in 697 animals (1997–2019)

  • Veterinary Microbiology - Research Paper
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Abstract

Klebsiella species, particularly K. pneumoniae, are well-known opportunistic enterobacteria related to complexity of clinical infections in humans and animals, commonly refractory to conventional therapy. The domestic animals may represent a source of the pathogenic and multidrug-resistant Klebsiella species to humans. Nevertheless, most studies involving Klebsiella-induced infections in domestic animals are restricted to case reports or outbreaks. We retrospectively investigated selected epidemiological data, clinical aspects, and in vitro susceptibility pattern of 697 non-repetitive Klebsiella infections in livestock and companion species (1997–2019). The isolates were obtained from different clinical disorders from dogs (n = 393), cattle (n = 149), horses (n = 98), cats (n = 27), pigs (n = 22), sheep (n = 5), goats (n = 2), and buffalo (n = 1), except four isolates from subclinical bovine mastitis. Urinary (223/697 = 32%), enteric (117/697 = 16.8%), mammary (85/697 = 12.2%), reproductive (85/697 = 12.2%), and respiratory disorders (67/697 = 9.6%) were the most common clinical manifestations. Other miscellaneous clinical pictures (116/697 = 16.6%) included abscesses, otitis, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, pyodermitis, sepsis, and encephalitis. Norfloxacin (183/245 = 74.7%) and gentamicin (226/330 = 68.5%) were the most effective antimicrobials. High in vitro resistance of the isolates was seen to ampicillin (326/355 = 91.8%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (25/62 = 40.3%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (100/252 = 39.7), and multidrug resistance to ≥ 3 classes of antimicrobials was found in 20.4% (142/697) isolates. Wide variety of clinical manifestations of Klebsiella-induced infections was observed, with a predominance of urinary, enteric, mammary, reproductive, and respiratory tract disorders, reinforcing opportunistic behavior of agent. Poor in vitro efficacy was observed to some conventional antimicrobials and ~ 20% of isolates exhibited resistance pattern, reinforcing the need for proper use of drugs on therapy approaches in domestic animals to avoid multidrug-resistant bacteria, an emergent global concern.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Professor Paulo Martins da Costa and Inês Couto Rodrigues at Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute-ICBAS, University of Porto, Portugal, for the critical review of the manuscript. This research was supported by the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, FAPESP), Brazil, grant 2015/19688-8. We thank also the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq), Brazil, for research productivity fellowship (PQ) given to Márcio Garcia Ribeiro.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Production and Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Sao Paulo State University-UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

    Márcio Garcia Ribeiro, Amanda Bonalume Cordeiro de Morais, Ana Carolina Alves, Carolina Lechinski de Paula, Fábio Vinicius Ramos Portilho, Gustavo Henrique Batista Lara, Lorrayne de Souza Araújo Martins, Lucieny Sierra Moraes, Rafaela Mastrangelo Risseti, Simony Trevizan Guerra, Thaís Spessotto Bello, Amanda Keller Siqueira, Amanda Bezerra Bertolini, Carolina Aparecida Rodrigues, Natália Rodrigues Paschoal, Beatriz Oliveira de Almeida, Fernando José Paganini Listoni, Luísa Fernanda García Sánchez & Antonio Carlos Paes

  2. School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, São Paulo State University-UNESP, Botucatu, SP, 18618-681, Brazil

    Márcio Garcia Ribeiro

  3. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Antonio Nariño University, Bogota, Colombia

    Carmen Alicia Daza Bolaños

  4. Technology Faculty, FATEC, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

    Geraldo de Nardi Júnior

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  1. Márcio Garcia Ribeiro
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  2. Amanda Bonalume Cordeiro de Morais
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Contributions

MGR made a substantial contribution to the conceptualization, interpretation of data, and article writing. ABCM, ACA, CADB, CLP, FVRP, GNJ, GHBL, LSAM, LSM, RMR, STG, TSB, AKS, ABB, FJPL, LFGS, and ACP made a substantial contribution to the collection, analysis, and/or interpretation of data. CADB and STG made a substantial contribution to the statistical analysis. All the authors approved and revised critically the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Márcio Garcia Ribeiro.

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This study was carried out in accordance with guidelines for the ethical use of animals approved by the Ethics Committee on Animal Use (CEUA) of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, São Paulo State University, UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil (protocol number 0136/2017).

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Ribeiro, M.G., de Morais, A.B.C., Alves, A.C. et al. Klebsiella-induced infections in domestic species: a case-series study in 697 animals (1997–2019). Braz J Microbiol 53, 455–464 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-021-00667-0

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