| dc.description.abstract | Background: Antibiotic resistance has consistently become a significant global source of disease and mortality in both people and animals. Escherichia coli (E. coli) has been identified as a leading cause of resistant infections in both humans and animals that are often multidrug resistant (MDR) globally. Dogs have been identified as reservoirs of antibiotic resistant and multidrug resistant E. coli in other countries. Most studies on both antibiotic resistant and multidrug resistant E. coli in Uganda have targeted humans, food-producing animals, and the environment. This has led to limited information on the role of dogs as possible carriers and reservoirs of antibiotic resistant and multidrug resistant E. coli.
Main Objective: To determine the prevalence of E. coli, antibiotic resistant E. coli and factors associated with multidrug resistance among dogs from selected veterinary clinics in Kampala District.
Methods: This cross-sectional study enrolled 275 dogs and their owners in selected veterinary clinics in Kampala district. A structured questionnaire, oral and fecal samples from dogs were used for data collection. penicillin G(10μg), amoxicillin-clavulanate (20μg), ceftriaxone(30μg), ciprofloxacin (5μ)g, tetracycline (30μg), and gentamicin (10μg) were used to test for susceptibility of E. coli isolates. The outcome variables were E. coli, antibiotic resistant E. coli and multidrug resistance. Data was analyzed using modified poisson regression with clustered robust standard errors adjusting for clustering at the clinic level.
Results: The prevalence of E. coli was 76.0% (95% CI 68.4, 83.6). The prevalence of antibiotic resistant E. coli was 100.0% in the E. coli positive samples. The prevalence of multidrug resistance was 66.5% (95%CI 58.1, 74.9). Unhealed sickness in the last six months (aPR=1.27, p=0.011), Eating raw meat (aPR=1.18, p=0.015), where the dog stays (aPR=0.82, p=0.002) and presence of other animals in the household (aPR=0.87, p=0.012) were associated with carriage of MDR in dogs with samples positive for E. coli.
Conclusion: There was a high prevalence of both E. coli and antibiotic resistance in dogs presented to veterinary clinics in Kampala. Develop strategies to control antibiotic resistance and multidrug resistance in dogs and adopt them in National Antimicrobial Resistance Action Plan by Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF). Dog owners should be sensitized about antibiotic resistance and multidrug resistant infections, their associated factors in dogs and their public heath importance by veterinary professionals and MAAIF. A similar study in a community setting in apparently healthy dogs should be done to compare the results from this study | en_US |
