Fecal samples from 200 healthy dogs at 50 clinics in Chiang Mai and Nakhon Si Thammarat during January-March 2026 yielded 66 E. coli isolates. Resistance reached 100% for ampicillin, 84.85% for piperacillin, 60.61% for ceftriaxone, 56.06% for tetracycline, and 47% multidrug resistance.
Key findings
- Among the selected highly resistant isolates, blaTEM occurred in 60% from Nakhon Si Thammarat versus 0% from Chiang Mai (p=0.022), and stx2 in 93.33% versus 26.67% (p
Why this matters globally
Companion animals share environments and antimicrobial pressures with people. Surveillance should integrate drug history, food, environment, owners, and isolate genomics to distinguish common-source exposure from direct transmission. The findings support veterinary antimicrobial stewardship.
Thai researcher contribution
Walailak University and Chiang Mai University built a two-region clinic network linking veterinary medicine, microbiology, and One Health to antimicrobial resistance in Thai companion animals.
Limitations to consider
Only 66 isolates were recovered from 200 dogs across two provinces and three months, and clinic dogs may not represent the community. Selecting the 30 most resistant isolates inflates gene-frequency estimates. Disk diffusion lacks MICs, and no whole-genome phylogeny or human sampling tested transmission.
Verify the original sources
AnimalsRead the original article↗DOI: 10.3390/ani16132023