Antibiotic resistance and frequency of fimH, papC and sfa-foc virulence genes in Escherichia coli isolated from Caspian horse feces in Guilan province

Due to the widespread use of antimicrobials in veterinary medicine and the increase in livestock production, it seems that the risk of spreading antibiotic resistance in human societies is more related to animals and the veterinary field. In this study, antibiotic resistance and frequency of fimH, papC and sfa-foc virulence genes among Escherichia coli isolated from Caspian horse feces in Guilan were studied. In this cross- sectional study, E. coli isolates were isolated from the feces of 157 apparently healthy Caspian horses by culture method and biochemical tests. Resistance patterns against 17 different antibiotics were determined by disk diffusion method and frequency of virulence genes were assessed by PCR in isolates. In phenotypic assay of antibiotic resistance, the isolates showed the most resistance to streptomycin and sulfamethoxazole-trimetoprim antibiotics. Imipenem and gentamicin were the most effective antibiotics and 51.59 percent of isolates showed multi drug resistance pattern. The frequency of fimH, papC and sfa-foc virulence genes in isolates were 91%, 56.6% and 33.3%, respectively. Frequency of all of three investigated genes were significantly higher in MDR isolates (P< 0.05). The results of the present study indicate that Escherichia coli isolated from the feces of horses in Guilan has the potential to transmit antibiotic resistance and endanger public health.