Klebsiella-induced infections in domestic species: a case-series study in 697 animals (1997–2019)

Klebsiella species, particularly K. pneumoniae, are well-known opportunistic enterobacteria related to complexity of clinical infections in humans and animals, commonly refractory to conventional therapy. The domestic animals may represent a source of the pathogenic and multidrug-resistant Klebsiella species to humans. Nevertheless, most studies involving Klebsiella-induced infections in domestic animals are restricted to case reports or outbreaks. We retrospectively investigated selected epidemiological data, clinical aspects, and in vitro susceptibility pattern of 697 non-repetitive Klebsiella infections in livestock and companion species (1997–2019). The isolates were obtained from different clinical disorders from dogs (n = 393), cattle (n = 149), horses (n = 98), cats (n = 27), pigs (n = 22), sheep (n = 5), goats (n = 2), and buffalo (n = 1), except four isolates from subclinical bovine mastitis. Urinary (223/697 = 32%), enteric (117/697 = 16.8%), mammary (85/697 = 12.2%), reproductive (85/697 = 12.2%), and respiratory disorders (67/697 = 9.6%) were the most common clinical manifestations. Other miscellaneous clinical pictures (116/697 = 16.6%) included abscesses, otitis, hepatitis, conjunctivitis, pyodermitis, sepsis, and encephalitis. Norfloxacin (183/245 = 74.7%) and gentamicin (226/330 = 68.5%) were the most effective antimicrobials. High in vitro resistance of the isolates was seen to ampicillin (326/355 = 91.8%), amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (25/62 = 40.3%), and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (100/252 = 39.7), and multidrug resistance to ≥ 3 classes of antimicrobials was found in 20.4% (142/697) isolates. Wide variety of clinical manifestations of Klebsiella-induced infections was observed, with a predominance of urinary, enteric, mammary, reproductive, and respiratory tract disorders, reinforcing opportunistic behavior of agent. Poor in vitro efficacy was observed to some conventional antimicrobials and ~ 20% of isolates exhibited resistance pattern, reinforcing the need for proper use of drugs on therapy approaches in domestic animals to avoid multidrug-resistant bacteria, an emergent global concern.