Genetically Similar High-Risk Strains of Carbapenemase-Producing Enterobacterales in Humans and Companion Animals, United States

TL;DR

This study finds that drug-resistant bacteria in US pets and humans are genetically similar, suggesting possible transmission between them.

Contribution

The study identifies high-risk CP-CRE strains shared between humans and pets in the US, highlighting a One Health concern.

Findings

Most CP-CRE sequences from US companion animals are part of One Health clusters with human isolates.

92% of clustered isolates carry the blaNDM-5 carbapenemase allele.

Closely related subclusters link human and animal isolates geographically, indicating possible transmission.

Abstract

To elucidate the zoonotic potential of carbapenemase-producing carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CP-CRE) in US companion animals (i.e., dogs and cats), we queried the National Center for Biotechnology Pathogen Detection database to identify One Health clusters containing CP-CRE isolates from companion animals and humans. The 11 One Health clusters we found included most (69% [169/246]) publicly available CP-CRE sequences from US companion animals and were from 8 internationally disseminated, high-risk sequence types from 3 bacterial species (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae). All clustered isolates had New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase–family carbapenemases, and most (92%) carried the blaNDM-5 allele. The One Health clusters included several closely related subclusters with geographically linked isolates from both humans and companion animals. Those results suggest that CP-CRE is an emerging One Health issue and that direct or indirect transmission of CP-CRE is occurring between humans and companion animals in the United States.

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