Species distribution, virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance of Acinetobacter spp. isolates from dogs and cats: a preliminary study

Abstract

In this study, the prevalence of virulence factors and antimicrobial resistance among 67 Acinetobacter spp. isolates, consisting of 21 Acinetobacter baumannii and 46 non-baumannii Acinetobacter obtained from companion animals, was investigated. PCR analysis showed that the most prevalent virulence gene was afa/draBC (29.9%), followed by papC (22.4%) and cvaC (20.9%). Antimicrobial susceptibility testing revealed that resistance to gentamicin (14.9%) and ciprofloxacin (11.9%) was relatively prevalent. Five gentamicin- and/or ciprofloxacin-resistant A. baumannii strains were assigned to ST25, ST149, ST164, ST203 and ST1198. All ciprofloxacin-resistant isolates harbored point mutations in gyrA and/or parC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of preliminary monitoring of animal-origin Acinetobacter spp. in Japan.