Authors: Shnaiderman-Torban Anat, Navon-Venezia Shiri, Dor Ziv, Paitan Yossi, Arielly Haia, Ahmad Wiessam Abu, Kelmer Gal, Fulde Marcus, Steinman Amir
Journal: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
Summary
# Editorial Summary: ESBL-Producing Enterobacteriaceae in Equine Populations Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae represent an emerging antimicrobial resistance challenge in equine medicine, yet their prevalence and epidemiology in horses remain poorly characterised. Shnaiderman-Torban and colleagues conducted a prospective survey across three cohorts—192 farm horses, 168 horses at hospital admission, and 86 hospitalised cases sampled longitudinally—using enriched rectal swabs with confirmatory testing and PCR identification of ESBL genes. Hospital-acquired carriage escalated dramatically from 19.6% on admission to 77.9% after 72 hours or more of hospitalisation (OR = 12.12), whereas on-farm prevalence stabilised at 20.8%, establishing the nosocomial environment as a significant risk factor. *Escherichia coli* dominated (59.9%), followed by *Enterobacter* species and *Klebsiella pneumoniae*, with CTX-M-1 genes accounting for over half of isolates; concurrently, resistance to fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides, and trimethoprim-sulphonamides increased markedly during hospitalisation. These findings carry critical implications for practice: equine professionals should anticipate substantially higher ESBL carriage in hospitalised patients, recognise that previous antibiotic exposure (OR = 9.8) and male sex confer increased risk, and advocate for structured antimicrobial stewardship and infection control protocols to mitigate nosocomial transmission and limit further resistance development.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Hospitalized horses acquire ESBL-producing bacteria at high rates; implement strict infection control and active surveillance protocols in equine hospitals
- •Antibiotic stewardship is critical—judicious use of antibiotics can reduce ESBL-E shedding risk by nearly 10-fold
- •Consider breed and sex when assessing infection risk; Arabian horses and stallions warrant closer monitoring for antimicrobial resistance carriage
Key Findings
- •ESBL-E shedding prevalence increased from 19.6% on hospital admission to 77.9% in hospitalized horses (p < 0.0001, OR = 12.12)
- •Farm horses had significantly lower shedding rate (20.8%) compared to hospitalized horses
- •E. coli was the predominant ESBL-E species (59.9%), with CTX-M-1 as the main resistance gene (56.8%)
- •Risk factors for shedding in farms included Arabian breed (OR = 3.9), stallion sex (OR = 3.4), and antibiotic treatment (OR = 9.8); older age was protective (OR = 0.88)